Into The Unknown
by Michaela.Lala
Summary: Sora is now an ANBU agent, married with children, and her life takes an unexpected turn when Konoha discovers a portal to another world. Naruto, now the Hokage, send her in alone; who knows what she'll find?  OC next-gen fiction
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: hey! so this is a crossover that hit me at about 2 in the morning, so beware typos. im combining my naruto fiction with bleach. we'll see how this turns out...**

**if you've read 'Frosted Wings' (my naruto fic) then you'll understand a little better. this is kinda like an epilogue with a twist.**

**enjoy! and please review! this is my first crossover, i'd like to know if it's crap! XD**

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"Sukai-san."

I had opened the door, seeing an ANBU officer in a crouching position facing the threshold. He had the classic pale purple armor, the half-sword, the black attire, and the red-trimmed mask like every other ANBU was required to wear.

I recognized him, as well.

"Hello. Another mission?" I asked in a flat, commanding tone.

"Hai. Hokage-sama wishes to see you immediately."

"Thank you. Tell Hokage-sama that I will be there shortly."

"Hai," the ANBU vanished. I sighed, running a hand through my wet hair. I went back to my room, where my husband was wide-awake, staring at me intensely.

"Neji," I started. He shook his head.

"Go on, Sora. I'll take care of Miharu and Ayumu."

"Thank you, Koishii. I promise I won't be long." I kissed his cheek and he ran his thumb up my jaw line. I knew he was worried from the look in his eyes. "I'll be fine." I gave him a fleeting kiss on his lips and grabbed the bag I'd long since learned to keep packed. I dressed in the ANBU armor and outfit, sheathed my katana, bringing my mask on my hip. I shoved my feet into my signature boots on my way out, tucking the bottom of my pants into them while trying to walk silently across the hall.

I went to my children's room.

My oldest, Miharu, was sleeping with her little brother, Ayumu. Her long raven hair, so much like her father's, was draped over her closed jade eyes. I kissed her forehead with a smile. I brushed away Ayumu's dark brown hair, covering his unique Byakugan, and kissed his forehead as well. He muttered slightly in his sleep.

"Stay safe, Aiji."  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"What is it, Naruto?" I tried to sound more tired than I was. It didn't do a thing, however, because the Hokage was more tired than I was.

"Kono…hamaru, tell her," his eyes were half shut.

"Nothing changes," I sighed. I turned to Naruto's assistant and protégée, Konohamaru.

"We were notified by ANBU a few miles outside the village that found a crack in a wall that seemed to lead to nowhere."

"Nani?" I scrunched my eyebrows.

"We sent another team, and fortunately they returned safely. They gathered knowledge on what seems," he paused to make sure I was listening, "to be another universe."

I couldn't say anything. I gaped at the young man like he'd said… well, exactly what he did say.

"I'm aware that it's hard to believe," Naruto finally spoke up, seemingly more awake. "But I'm sending you in. As a mednin, you have the best chance of surviving an onslaught, and I know you as a kind person who could also serve as a diplomat."

"Well, thanks, but—"

"You know I would listen to objections normally," he pointed out. "But this time, I'm afraid there's no one else to do the job."

"Sakura can't do it?" I asked, not trying to get out of the mission, but out of curiosity.

Naruto broke into his big stupid grin. "Sasuke-teme told me yesterday that she was pregnant!"

"Really? Well, tell them congratulations!" I exclaimed with surprise. When Sasuke had finally been relieved of surveillance, he had decided to marry Sakura (finally) and this would be their third child.

"I will," Naruto kept smiling. "But like I said, no one else can do this mission."

"So it's a solo mission to an unknown universe to do… what?" I asked.

"I want you to see if there are people there. If we can pass through this crack in the wall, we could form an alliance and share it with the Sand and Rain. We could continue building a Utopia for the entire world."

I shook my head in awe. "You never cease to amaze me, Naruto. I'll accept the mission. On one condition," I added as an afterthought.

"Yes?"

"Since I don't know how long I will be gone, I would like to send messages to Neji and my kids along with my reports back to you."

"That's reasonable," Naruto shrugged. On every Thursday, I will send a messenger to the crack in the wall. They will be there all day, and you may pass your messages with your reports."

"Thank you, Naruto," I sighed in relief.

"I would like you to leave as soon as possible. Get going. Konohamaru is leading you there," Naruto stood. He came over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Stay safe, friend."

"I will. Ja ne."  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"There it is," Konohamaru pointed to a white light in the wall. It was hidden by a table and some other decorations, since it was so large.

"Thanks, Konohamaru-kun. Sayonara," I held my hand out to him.

"Ja, Sora-nee," he shook it. As soon as we released the contact, he disappeared.

"All right," I adjusted my backpack and put on my mask. "Into the unknown I go."  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

I stepped out into a thick forest.

I searched around, only to see more trees, and in the far distance, some basic houses. I began walking in the direction of the houses, sure that I would find a civilization of some sort.

I had barely taken ten steps when weird chakra signatures surrounded me. I froze, my hands in a ready position to grab any weapon.

The chakras belonged to people clad with black outfits, only their eyes showing through. They carried short katana, like the regulation ANBU swords. I eyed them, still not unsheathing my weapon. I had no reason to cause hostility.

A woman materialized in front of me with a large man behind her.

She wore pants just a little baggier than mine, tucked into long socks connected to slippers. She wore a white haori, tied with a yellow sash, over a v-neck black shirt. Her hair was cropped, tied with cloths over two thin, waist-length ponytails with ring attached at the ends. The man behind her wore several rings, clearly showing off his wealth, and had a thick purple collar. He wore socks and straw sandals, hakama, and a loose kimono shirt. They stared at me in a way that reminded me of Neji when we were kids.

"Who are you?" the woman asked in a clear monotone.

"My name is Sukai Sora."

"What is your purpose?"

"I have no purpose," not anymore, anyway, "and I have no wish to harm anyone."

"Why did you come here?" she rephrased her question.

"I was ordered to explore this land. I was to find out if civilization existed here. Clearly, it does."

"Indeed. Where are you from?"

"Are you the highest power? I can tell you are above everyone else here, but do you have higher-ups as well? I would like to explain this only once," I asked politely.

She narrowed her eyes. "I am the Captain of the Second Division of Soul Society. My name is Soifon. I will take you to the Sōtaichō. He can decide what happens from here on out."

"Fine by me," I smiled behind the mask.

"Remove your weapons," the man commanded, finally approaching me. I nodded and took off my pouches and my katana. He motioned to the mask and I hesitated.

"I would rather keep it on until we reach this… Sōtaichō."

"I guess that's reasonable." They surrounded me and kept their swords pointed at me carefully as Soifon led my through their city.

It was rich with stone and I felt pure and my mind was clearer here. There were thousands of houses and in the center was a cliff that seemed to serve no purpose, but it added a beautiful mark in the sunrise now coming over the horizon.

We seemed to have reached our destination when we approached a massive door with the kanji for 'one' on it.

"Soifon, Nibantai-taicho." She called up to the top of the wall. The door opened and we went through. As soon as I passed the threshold, my guards disappeared and the taicho and her partner flanked me.

"What is the meaning of this, Soifon-taicho?" an old man, with a terrifying chakra and a thick air of authority demanded of her. His head was bare, but he had a long white beard wrapped with purple string. He wore the same outfit as Soifon's partner minus the collar, with a haori like Soifon's slung over his shoulders. Both his hands grasped an old staff, and his eyes were squinted closed.

"I found this woman wandering in the woods outside the city, Sōtaichō. I brought her here on her own request, and for your judgment," Soifon stepped back, and I noticed that her partner was gone from the room.

The old man, the Sōtaichō, turned his direct attention on to me. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sukai Sora. I am a shinobi of a village called Konohagakure. I am of the highest possible rank, aside from Hokage, our leader. I am also a skilled medic." I thought maybe my skills were going over the line, but keeping information from him could mean my execution.

"And what is your purpose here, Sukai Sora?"

"I was sent through a crack in a wall to this place to explore it and find out whether there are people living here. Since I now know there are, my mission is to make a connection between our worlds and form a possible alliance."

"Our worlds, you say? Impossible."

"I thought so as well. I am guessing that our two worlds are now connected by a crack in time or space. Or both, possibly. If you want, I can lead you to the crack I emerged from."

"I will believe you for now," he said after a moment. "Messenger," he called to the side, "call an emergency captain's meeting. And send someone for Kurosaki Ichigo as well."

"Hai," someone said from an unknown and unimportant place.

Very soon, Soifon was lined up with eight other captains, judging by their haoris. I sat formally facing them, mask still on, in front of the Sōtaichō, trying to stop shaking. I felt as though their chakras were pounding down on me like heavy fire.

"Silence," Sōtaichō quieted the room. "I called you here because of a strange occurrence within the Seireitei." I wondered idly what the heck a 'Seireitei' was, but I waited patiently. "This woman has appeared. She says she came here through a crack in time or space from another universe. I summoned you for your opinions on the matter."

"I'm coming in," another voice said from outside the door I'd entered through. In walked a young-looking man with a handle of some sort sticking up beside his head. His hair was bright orange, and he was clearly tired. He lined up on the left side of the room.

"Introduce yourself," one of the captains prompted, though I didn't see which.

I nodded and stood. "My name is Sukai Sora. I am from a village called Konohagakure. It is a village of shinobi, and I am of the highest rank besides our leader. I am also a medic," I sighed a little at the end, tired of introducing myself. Hadn't I said I only wanted to say it once?

"Um, would you mind removing your mask, Sukai-san?" a woman with black hair braided down her front smiled kindly at me.

"Oh, yes, of course," I unhooked the mask and reattached it on my hip. They all looked relieved slightly to see that I could take it off. Except for the orange-haired man, who looked a little confused.

"Why are you here, Sukai-san?" a male captain with long white hair and black eyebrows asked just as kindly as the woman had.

"My leader, the Hokage, wanted to find out whether there were people here. I was to form an alliance if there were."

"Yama-jii, have you tested her skills yet?" a man with a straw hat and a bright pink kimono over his haori asked the Sōtaichō.

"I have not. I was about to assign someone," he answered.

"I'll gladly do it," the man stepped out of his line and lifted his hat.

"No, you will not. I have already decided. Sukai Sora, you will fight Ukitake Juushiro in order to test your claims to be of another world," he slammed the end of his staff into the ground and I swore I felt power emerge from it.

"Hai, sir."

"Where, Genryūsai-sensei?" the white-haired man that had spoken before asked.

"Choose for yourself."

"We can go to my division's training grounds. Can you follow?" Ukitake-taicho asked me.

I nodded. "Hai."

"We'll be going then," he started walking and I followed, stopping at Soifon-taicho.

"May I have my weapons? I will most definitely need them," I could tell that much from his chakra.

"Fine. My fuku-taicho is outside the doors."

I bowed. "Arigatogozaimashita."

As she had said, I got my weapons and soon approached a door with the kanji for 'thirteen' on it. We entered and headed straight for a large grass area. I guessed it was almost seven o'clock, by the bright light over the horizon. I took a deep breath of the pure air and took a stance, a good 20 or 30 feet from Ukitake. I let my instincts tune themselves to my surroundings. Which included basically nothing. Grass, dirt, a few rocks; that was it.

"Begin!" I heard Sōtaichō call from above us. I didn't spare him a glance, expecting Ukitake to attack immediately.

He didn't do a thing.

"Draw your sword," he said to me, like a suggestion instead of a command.

"My katana isn't my preferred weapon."

"Interesting. Attack me with your preferred weapon, then," he motioned to me with a slight smile.

"…Hai," I replied, thinking this man was out of his mind. Then again, I wasn't going to kill him, so it didn't really matter.

My hands flew together in seals, finally ending on my own: angel.

Thick cartilage grew from my shoulder blades and after about twenty seconds, my wings, pure white with frosty blue tips, were emerged, reaching down to my toes.

"What kind of technique is that?" Ukitake's mouth hung open, in utter awe.

"It's called a justu. They are concentrations of our inner energy called chakra, and they take the form of anything of a certain element. Mine, however, is a bloodline limit, passed down only in my clan."

"What is it called?"

"Fuuton: Akuma no tsubasa no jutsu," I said. "Mine are wings of a demon," I grinned in pleasure at every captain's expression.

"Is this your full power?"

"…Hai," I decided to tell him yes.

"Then I should release my zanpakuto," he smiled a little more. It was charming, really.

"Soul Slayer? That's… well, it's vivid to say the least."

He chuckled. "Indeed." He took out the katana on his hip. "Waves, become my shield; Lightning, become my blade; Sōgyo no Kotowari."

My eyebrows rose at the powerful incantation. Then my eyes widened as the blade of his sword became two strangely shaped ones, connected by a red rope with five silver charms hangings from it. I tensed my wings in preparation.

"You may attack first," he said as he crossed his right arm over his left.

"Fine by me." I drew my wings around me, took a deep breath, and spun. Hundreds of chakra-hardened feathers darted at him at light speed, making him unable to dodge. They sliced through several parts of his arms and legs, and one on each side of his face.

He stared at me in shock as I unraveled my wings. I wiped a little sweat from my hairline and swallowed.

He touched the slice in his cheek and looked at the blood. I vowed to heal him after this, to show that power as well. I curled my wings to my back and brought my hands together in more hand seals.

"Wind release: Drilling Air Bullet!" I sucked in as much air as possible and shot the technique at Ukitake. To my surprise, he pointed his left sword at it and it slowly disappeared.

And shot right back at me.

"Nani?" I asked myself, jumping into the air to dodge. My wings uncurled and beat to keep me up. My brow furrowed, I analyzed him. Coming up with nothing, I tried again. This time, I noticed that as the technique disappeared, the charms on the rope lit up, then my jutsu came out the right sword.

I wrapped my wings around myself and waited for the technique to pass. When they unwrapped, a sword to my face greeted me. My left wings blocked just in time, and I wrapped my ankles around Ukitake's neck, flipping backwards and releasing him.

As he hit the ground, I sighed. "With respect, I've shown you the basic gist of my abilities. You only have yet to see my medical abilities," I yelled to the other captains.

"Please treat him, then," Sōtaichō returned. I nodded and released my wings. They disintegrated into the air. I ran over to Ukitake, who was already sitting in wait.

"Lie on your back, please," I helped him lean back. I then placed my hands over his chest and my green chakra enveloped my hands. The wounds around his body began to close, and I checked the rest of his body for possible internal injuries he could have suffered by accident. My eyes widened and my chakra faltered.

"Is something wrong?" Ukitake asked gently.

"You… are very sick, aren't you?" I asked quietly, in shock.

"Excellent," the kind woman from before approached me from behind. I tensed, my instincts not liking that detail. I wasn't sure if she meant that I'd noticed his illness, or that I'd healed his injuries so fast.

As she began her own diagnosis, I felt a hard pound on the ground and I turned to see the other captains standing behind me. I quickly stood at attention.

"I have found you intriguing," Sōtaichō said. "Come with me back to Ichibantai. I need to speak with you. Other captains are to return to their normal duties. Dismissed."

As they were told, they all vanished. I followed the old man back to our original venue and kneeled in front of his desk.

"You said your village had a leader, correct?"

"Hai, Sōtaichō. His name is Uzumaki Naruto. His title officially is Hokage, and he has proven to be a trustworthy and strong man many times in the past."

"I will write a letter to him. Then you will return to your village and become a messenger for now. He may send you back if he so wishes."

"Thank you, sir."

"Wait for at least four hours. I have duties to attend to for now."

"Hai."

"Dismissed."

I realized as soon as I emerged from his office that I had nowhere to go. So I decided to go outside.

The air here was brisk and clean, free of pollution and other things. I managed to find my way out of the Ichibantai premises and awkwardly sat outside the wall. I took off my backpack, having realized that I hadn't done that yet, and took out a thick ration bar to gnaw on.

It was almost a half hour later that someone finally stopped to talk to me.

"Sukai Sora, correct?" he said. I looked up to see the captain with the pink haori smiling and holding a hand out to me. I nodded, smiling back at him, and took his offer. I grabbed my backpack and slung it over one shoulder as we walked.

"Let's go to my barracks. You can meet my…_delightful_ fuku-taicho."

"…Hai."

"TAICHO!" a woman with dark hair up in a thick clip and wore rectangular glasses yelled as soon as we got through the door. I stopped in my tracks so I didn't get caught in the crossfire while she scolded the captain for various deeds; drinking and ignoring paperwork among them.

I giggled subconsciously and regretted it as the quarreling pair stared at me.

"U-um, the previous Hokage seems to be a lot like you…" I tried. Really, I _tried._

"I was wondering about that. What is your village like, Sora-chan?" he changed my name.

"Uh… well, it's sunny and friendly. The ninja from there are well known for being compassionate and choosing our comrades over the mission. It's really a beautiful place."

"Maybe I should vacation there sometime…" he eyed his fuku-taicho, who was still staring at me. "Oh, Sora-chan, this is Nanao-chan, my fuku-taicho."

"It's nice to meet you," I bowed lightly.

"You as well."

"Oh, Taicho-san, I don't know your name," I realized.

"It's Kyōraku Shunsui. Nanao-chan will want to call you Sukai-san, most likely."

"Because it's _proper,_" Nanao chided.

"Well, come on. Tell me more about your village," Kyōraku placed a hand on my back and led my to the roof, where he laid down while I sat a reasonable distance away.

"The Hokage is a powerful person who protects the village with his or her life. In the past, we've had five male Hokage and only one female. You remind me of her," I smiled nostalgically, remembering Tsunade.

"When was she in power?"

"She was inaugurated when I was twelve. I was the lowest rank ninja then, along with the current Hokage."

"You're a friend of his?"

"Hai. He always used to blab about being Hokage, and making everyone respect him and all that. He changed the world; at least to those close to him."

"He sounds powerful," Nanao joined us.

"He is. Naruto was inaugurated when I was…" I did the math, "nineteen. It was a bright day, even for Konoha."

"And how long has he been in power?" Nanao wondered.

"Almost seven years."

We listened to the birds and the peace for a few minutes.

"What about you?" Kyōraku asked suddenly. "What do you do when you're not on missions?"

I smiled a content smile. "I do things with my two best friends and teammates. I also take care of my two children, Miharu and Ayumu. And I wait for my husband to come home from _his _missions. It's a nice life I live, even for a Shinobi."

"You're married?" Nanao smiled.

"Yes. My full name would be Sukai-Hyuga Sora. It's a little confusing because I'm to be the head of my clan, and my husband is in a power struggle for his clan."

"Sounds complex," Kyōraku sighed.

"Definitely," I chuckled. "It would be less complex if the Hyuga clan would stop trying to be so noble." We shared a little laugh.

"So enough about Konoha, what about this place?"

"Soul Society is a place you go when you die," Kyōraku started. "We are called Shinigami. We are souls that have excess power and we use it to protect humans and Soul Society."

"Sounds… not so complex," I smiled.

"You're right about that. Usually."

It was nice to talk to them to casually. I knew there were things we were keeping from each other, but I didn't mind. It was pleasant company.

"So Sukai-san is here, then?" I recognized the chakra approaching as Ukitake-taicho's.

"Hai, hai. We've been talking about her village. She's married!" Kyōraku seemed to be enjoying himself. I blushed just a little as the shared knowledge.

"You must be excited to get home, then," Ukitake smiled.

"Very," I blurted without thinking. I tried to catch myself. "I-I mean I just… I um…"

"I would too," the captain sat with Kyōraku.

"Yes. My teammates don't even know I'm gone," I sighed. "Ugh, Izumi's going to kill me." They laughed, but I stopped them with a serious look. "No, really. She'll kill me." They stared at me.

"Kumouri Izumi, wife of the Kazekage and joint shinobi between the allied nations. Kyuuma-Nara Sunai, wife of the Nara clan head, only Kyuuma in Konoha," I summarized. "Izumi's a bomb and fire specialist. She will _kill _me."

"Nice friends," Kyōraku chuckled.

"The best," I smiled. "Ukitake-taicho and you seem to be friends as well, Kyōraku-taicho. How long have you know each other?"

"Pft. I've lost count. What is it? Almost six hundred years now?" Kyōraku shrugged.

"W-wait a second. Six _hundred _years?" I gawked.

"Oh, right, you're human. And you're what? Twenty-six?" Ukitake laughed. "We live a tad longer than you do."

"A tad," I nodded.

"How long did Yama-jii say he needed?" Kyōraku asked after a few minutes.

"Four hours."

"Start heading back, then. You know your way?"

"I don't know," I admitted. So much for being a notable ninja.

"I'll escort you," Ukitake stood.

"Oh, well thank you, Taicho," I bowed a little.

"No problem," he waved a hand and we jumped down.

"Ja ne, Kyōraku-taicho, Nanao-fuku-taicho!" I called to them and we left.

"Say, Ukitake-taicho…" I said quiety after a moment.

"Yes?"

"When I was healing you…"

"You were right. I am very ill. I have been sick since I was a child," he confirmed.

"Have you seen a doctor?" I asked the stupid question.

"Unohana-taicho, the woman captain from before, is an old friend of mine. I see her once a week, so yes I do. However, it isn't something I can fix so easily."

"…Would you mind if I take another look?" I asked awkwardly. I wanted to get the image in my head so I could ask Sakura about it.

"Certainly."

"You don't need to lie down. Just a minute," I started the chakra flow in my hands and pressed them to his chest. I closed my eyes and concentrated.

His lungs were thick-coated with some kind of bacteria, which seemed to restrict his breathing some. I wasn't sure what it was, I was just a mednin—not a doctor—but I knew it was bad. I released my technique and looked at him.

"How does Unohana-taicho treat this?" I asked as we kept walking.

"Herbal tea, usually. Aside from that, much rest and an occasional dose of antibiotics."

"That's all I could think of as well. Well, I have a _very _skilled friend, and I'll talk to her if you'd like. She might have a solution to your illness," I suggested.

"That's very kind of you, Sukai-san," he smiled as we approached the Ichibantai gate. "If you want to, I won't ask you to stop."

"Thank you, sir. For escorting me, that is. I'm sure I'll see you again soon."

"It was very nice meeting you Sukai-san." We exchanged our bows and I entered the barracks.

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**A/N: R&R! tell me how i did!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: hey! so i have exactly one follower (thanks, btw, Kiri-chan 'n' Kimi-chan) so i updated!**

**i really like this story. so muc, in fact, that i actually PLANNED for it! :O (fyi i NEVER do that)**

**so enjoy, alright? and review at the end! xoxo, Lala**

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"It was very nice meeting you Sukai-san." We exchanged our bows and I entered the barracks.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"This letter is for your Hokage. I will expect a reply within the next three days."

"Hai, Sōtaichō. Is there anything else before I leave?"

"Yes. One of the captains will be escorting you back to your world. Just as you explored here, he will explore there. He will return with your reply in three days."

"Which captain is this, Sōtaichō?" I asked, stopped by the opening of the door. I turned to see the orange-haired captain enter.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, Gobantai taicho."

"Nice to meet you, sir. Shall we leave then?" I asked the two men.

"Dismissed."

We hurried toward the crack, especially with me leading. I was eager to get back home; I wanted to see my family after all this insanity. I also wanted to talk to Sakura about Ukitake, and Izumi and Sunai were bound to be waiting for me.

"This is the place," I gestured toward a tree with a tall crevice in it, glowing slightly. "Would you like to go first, Kurosaki-taicho?"

He nodded and stepped through the crack. I followed shortly after, blinking to see through the blinding sunlight. I located Kurosaki and we started walking toward Konoha.

"Are you curious, Taicho?" I asked. "About Konoha?"

"More like the fact that there's another universe," he replied.

"How old are you, Kurosaki-taicho?" the question fell out, something yanking it out of my mouth.

"I'm almost 25."

"Wait, what?" I asked in confusion. "The other captains are all a hundred years old at _least_, how are you so young?"

"I'm still human. Anyway, I'll explain it later if you really want. Is there a faster way to the village?" he asked impatiently.

"Can you follow me somehow?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, c'mon." I leapt into the trees and started hopping from branch to branch and high speed. In a flash, he kept pace.

We made it back to the village fast. I told him to stay close to me and led him to the Hokage tower in the center of the village.

"Naruto, I'm coming in," I announced. Kurosaki seemed a little surprised at my lack of suffix.

"Sora? You're back already?" the blond exclaimed.

"Yeah, I had a couple things I needed to do. How's Hinata?" I asked as an afterthought.

He smiled proudly. "She's fine. I went to see Sakura and she said Hinata could come home tomorrow evening!"

"That's great news Naruto! And the little one?"

"He's just fine. Perfect health," he kept right on grinning. Then he saw Kurosaki. "Who's that?"

"Oh," I smiled sheepishly. "This is Kurosaki Ichigo. I'll let him do the explaining."

"I'm the captain of the fifth division in a city called Seireitei. There are thirteen divisions. I was sent by the captain-commander of these squads to deliver a letter and to be an ambassador between our two worlds."

"Where is this letter?" Naruto sat at the desk and shifted into Hokage mode.

"Here," Kurosaki handed him a neatly folded paper sealed with wax. Naruto broke the seal and read the note. I watched his eyes move over the characters carefully, trying to wrap his head around it.

"Sora?" he said after a few minutes. "Would you go find Kakashi for me? He should be with either Kurenai or Anko."

"Hai. Be back in a sec," I disappeared from the room. I found Kakashi at Kurenai's as promised, helping her clean the house. I smiled, and knocked on the open door. "Sensei?"

They both looked up. "Sora!"

"Hi. Um, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto wanted to see you," I motioned back at the tower.

"But I'm retired."

"But you're his ex-teacher. I'm afraid being the teacher of the Hokage entitles some responsibilities," I smirked.

He sighed. "Fine. Kurenai, I'll have to talk to you later."

"No problem. Go on," she smiled. Kakashi and I said good-bye and went straight to the tower.

"Naruto," I knocked on the door.

"Come on in," he replied. "Ah, Kaka-sensei. Meet Kurosaki Ichigo, a captain of Shinigami from another universe."

That statement took a while to explain.

"So you want me to show him around for a while? Sure, I can do that," Kakashi shrugged.

"Thanks, Sensei. Kurosaki, this man was once a temporary Hokage; he's a good representative of the village."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Oh, I love that title."

"Naruto…" I shook my head. Then I remembered something. "Oh, where do you think Sakura is?"

"Probably the hospital. She _is _the head, after all. I'll tell her you're coming."

"Don't trouble yourself. She won't listen to you anyway." I smirked and disappeared with a short bow to Kurosaki.

"Sukai-san! Welcome back," a nurse exclaimed when I entered. I nodded at her.

"Is Haruno-san here?"

"Hai. She is up in her office."

"Arigato." I jogged up the stairs to the head's office. "Sakura?"

"Come in."

"Hey, Sakura," I greeted.

"Sora! Good to see you! What can I do for you?"

"Well I had a question. I met someone recently who was very sick with a disease I am unfamiliar with. He had a bacteria coating the inside of his lungs, and it restricted his breathing."

"Sounds like Tuberculosis to me."

"What's Tuberculosis?"

"It's a virus. The majority of people who are infected with it don't have symptoms or anything. It'll make your friend cough up blood and keep him very frail and thin."

"Is there a procedure I can perform to help?"

"The best way to get rid of it would be to extract the bacteria. You have the ingredients for the poison removal solution, right?"

"Hai. I understand. Thanks Sakura," I said, relieved.

"So how have you been? I haven't seen you lately," Sakura leaned back in her chair.

"I've been great. Oh, Naruto said you were expecting again!"

She smiled. "I'm hoping Sasuke will be satisfied with three kids. What about you and Neji-san? Are you going to have another child?" she leered.

"Maybe, I guess," I blanched. "We haven't even talked about it. I have to go; I'll see you!" I waved as I left the office. She smiled and waved back and I hurried outside. As soon as I was out, I transported myself as close to home as I could get. I ran the rest of the way.

I unlocked the front door and called inside. "Neji?"

"Sora, you're back already?" Neji came around from the study.

"Yeah. I should be here for a couple more days, but I'll need to leave after that. How are the kids?"

"Miharu is at the academy and Ayumu's taking a nap. Would you like some tea before he wakes up?" he gestured toward the kitchen. I nodded and followed him there. He pulled out another cup and poured the hot liquid into it. Our tea and quiet privacy was short-lived though, when there was a knock at our door. I set down the teacup and sighed.

"Kurosaki-taicho!" I smiled welcomingly.

"Yo. Kakashi-san was showing me around and somehow we ended up here," Ichigo shrugged. I kept my smile in place, despite my agitation at being interrupted during a relaxing moment.

"Come in, come in," I made way for the two men. Neji, c'mere!" I said a little louder.

"Who is it?" Neji came around the corner. "Oh, hey Kakashi. And…" he noticed Ichigo. The orange-haired captain stuck his hand out.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. It's a pleasure."

"Hyuga Neji," Neji shook his hand, a little confused. He eyed me and I sighed.

"A friend, I guess. You understand," I smiled apologetically at him. He nodded. "Come on, we were just having tea." I led the pair to the kitchen, still feeling irritated, but not showing it.

I made more tea while Neji and Kurosaki got acquainted. Kurosaki explained that he'd never been to Konoha before, and that he liked it so far. Neji commented on places he should visit should he get the chance. Kakashi started reading a well-worn copy of his favorite orange book.

"Here we go," I poured tea into two more cups and sat down next to my husband.

"You have a very nice home," Kurosaki said, looking around.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"So, Kyōraku-taicho said you had children," he sipped his tea.

I nodded. "Our daughter, Miharu, is at school right now, and Ayumu, our son, is upstairs sleeping," I explained.

"What about you, Kurosaki-san? Do you have a family?" Neji sipped some tea.

"Hai. My wife, Orihime, is about…" he counted on his fingers, "six months pregnant," he grinned proudly.

"Congratulations!" I exclaimed.

"Thanks," he replied.

We made small talk, eventually making Kakashi join the conversation, for almost half an hour. I didn't even notice the time passing until a little voice spoke out from the kitchen door.

"Mama?" I turned to see two-year-old Ayumu rubbing his green-tinted Byakugan.

"Oh, Aiji, did we wake you?" I stood and lifted the child into my arms and onto my hip. He shook his head and smiled just a little. Then he noticed our guests and buried his face in my shoulder.

"This is Kurosaki-san, Ayumu," I tried to lure out his eyes. "And you know Kakashi already."

"Hi," the child lifted his head just enough to say the word.

"Hey, Ayumu-chan," Kakashi smiled under his ever-present mask.

"Are you still tired, Aiji?" I asked gently. He nodded. "Are you hungry?" he nodded again. "Okay, let's get you something to eat." I set the two-year old back on the floor and started toward the fridge.

"You know, I think we should get some food, too," Kakashi said suddenly. I stood upright.

"If you'd like. Maybe you should bring him to Ichiraku's, Kaka-sensei," I smiled. "Ayame-san would like the company, I'm sure."

"Why not?" the jounin shrugged. "Shall we, Kurosaki-san?"

"Sure," Kurosaki finished his tea and stood. "Thank you for the tea, Hyuga-san, Sukai-san," he bowed. "And it was very nice to meet you, Ayumu-chan," he knelt to the child's level. Ayumu let out a shy squeak and nodded.

"Sayonara," the bowed and left.

I got something for Ayumu to eat and sat with Neji while he ate.

"So how was _your _day?" I asked him, resting my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes.

"Fine. Finished a few of the reports I hadn't done yet. It's only noon," he pointed out. I sighed.

"And I'm already so tired."

"Mama," Ayumu got my attention. "All done," I opened my eyes to see his face covered in rice gruel, and I shook my head. I stood and got a washcloth and began wiping the food off his face.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"We have a few more hours until Miharu needs to be picked up," Neji pointed out.

"We could take Ayumu to Sunai's and stay home for a while," I suggested, putting my arms around his middle.

"Are you sure? Is Shikamaru even home?" he rested his arms around my shoulders.

"No, he's at a clan thing," I shrugged. "I think he took the oldest with him, so Sony should be fine."

"If you think so."

"Let's go," I pecked his lips and grabbed Ayumu. "C'mon, Aiji, we're going to see Aunt Sunai."

"Yay!" the boy looked genuinely happy. I hefted his diaper bag over my shoulder and we slipped our shoes on at the door.

Sony lived pretty close to us. It wasn't long before we were knocking on her door.

"Hey!" Sunai answered the door with a smile. "I though you were on a mission in Ame?"

"No, I got back a couple days ago. Sorry, I forgot to contact you. Then I got another mission last night. Hey, do you think you could babysit Ayumu for a while? Just a couple hours. We'll pick him up before we go pick up Miharu."

"Why not? I was just about to wake up Shikabashi," she took Ayumu from me and I put the diaper bag inside the door.

"Thanks, Sony. I really appreciate it," I tried to show my relief clearly. "And I'm sorry I'm sort of dumping him on you."

"Oh, no problem. At least you didn't try Izumi's. That would have ended badly," we chuckled lightly. "All right, go on. Neji's waiting for you," she jerked her chin to where Neji was indeed waiting a little ways away. They waved to each other and I hugged Sony from the side. I waved as we left to go back home.

I slid off my shoes and put on slippers. "Want do you want for lunch?" I asked Neji. I opened to fridge and looked through it thoroughly. "We really just have leftovers."

"That's fine." I got out leftover miso, rice, and some sliced pork. As I reheated everything, I felt Neji's arms around my waist.

"I missed you. I felt like I was gone for weeks," I sighed and nuzzled into his neck. He responded by finding my mouth and our lips met. I stopped the kiss when I smelled the pork starting to burn. I slid the now-hot pork out of the pan and onto a plate of rice and started heating the miso.

"So Sakura asked me a good question earlier today," I breathed when I found myself in the same situation as before.

"What was that?" Neji stirred the miso. I stuck my finger in and tested the heat. Deeming it warm enough, I poured it into two bowls.

"She wanted to know if we were going to have a third baby," I replied lightly. "I told her we hadn't discussed it."

"This is good," he informed me as he ate a piece of pork.

"Well thank you. What do you think? Could we _handle _another kid running around here?" I half-laughed.

"I think we should wait for a little while," he sat at the table. "Maybe when Miharu becomes a genin."

"Exactly what I was going to say," I sat across from him. Lunch was comfortable. We finished our food and took a nap together on the couch and went to get Ayumu at around 2:30.

"Let's go get Miharu, okay?" I said to my son. He nodded.

"Nee-chan, nee-chan, nee-chan," he chanted as he held my hand and kicked at the dirt.

When we reached the academy, classes were out and Miharu was waiting outside for us. "Mama!" she ran up and I kiss her forehead. "You're back already?"

"Yep!" I smiled. "Only, I have to left in a couple more days, okay? I'm going to trust you to look after these two boys, alright?" I cut my eyes to Neji and Ayumu behind me, the latter looking not particularly pleased with being called a boy and being looked after by his five-year-old daughter. I kissed his cheek and we let the siblings walk in front of us, holding hands.

Every once in a while, Ayumu would ask what something was on the side of the road, and Miharu would explain in full detail everything she knew about it. I smiled, hoping they got along like this forever.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Time already?" I half-whined when Naruto talked to me the next day. I had been called there in the afternoon, and was greeted by Konohamaru, Naruto, and Kurosaki Ichigo. Naruto nodded.

"It didn't really take that long to go over everything."

"If you don't mind me asking, what was it about?" I asked, my attention pulled.

"The basic things like 'we are the good guys, they are the bad guys, this is how we get rid of them' kind of things. I'm sure Kurosaki-san can explain it better than I can," Naruto shrugged. "Basically, you're going back so that we have a connection between our worlds. It'll take time, but I'm going to try for an alliance."

I smiled. "Hai. What are your detailed orders?"

"I want you to acquaint yourself with the Shinigami. Learn their history, their goals; things like that. Then they will send someone here, and they will learn our history, our goals, et cetera," he took a sheet of paper off the massive pile on the desk, and stamped it. "This is the official mission. It's a possible b-rank, and it's indefinite. Sorry, but I don't know how long you'll be there." He looked sympathetic.

I shook my head. "It's all right. Neji will be fine without me. And I assume our message system will stand?" I asked.

"Hai."

"Then it's fine with me. I'll trust my family to you if Neji needs to go on a mission." Naruto nodded and wrapped the paper with a string. He turned to Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-san, I am going to repeat what Yamamoto-dono said in his letter to me. 'The lives of both worlds will rest on the communication between them.' If we want to make an alliance, we will need trust. That is one reason I assigned Sora. I'm assuming that's also why he assigned you."

"Actually, they sent me for a different reason," Kurosaki shrugged. "It's about the mask Sukai-san was wearing when she entered our world."

I looked at Naruto who looked just as confused. "What about it?" I asked.

"In Soul Society, there are 'bad spirits' called hollow," he directed at me. I guessed Naruto already knew this. "They are big and have supernatural powers beyond imagination. They also wear _masks._"

It clicked. "Oh, so thought I was a hollow? No, it's just to keep my identity a secret on important missions," I assured him. "And I'm guessing that hollows can't remove their masks."

"No, they can't. However, there are variations of a hollow, when they can. So you understand why they were wary," he shrugged again.

"Oh yeah, I get it," I nodded.

"Shall we go?" Naruto stood.

"'We?'" I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going with you to the portal. I'm going to meet one of the captains if possible. Another captain," he added to Ichigo.

"Fair enough," Kurosaki allowed Naruto to go first. The blond zipped up his flak jacket and took his red and black 'Sixth Hokage' cloak off the rack next to the door. I followed after Ichigo in rank, and we made our way to the portal the Soul Society.

We stepped into the forest once again, and Soifon was already waiting for our return.

"Kurosaki, Sukai," she greeted curtly. She then turned on Naruto. "Who are you?"

"I'm—" Naruto started, about to introduce himself the same way he had done since he was a kid. I cut him off with my hand.

"Can we speak to Sōtaichō?" I asked, trying to be courteous and understand her perspective.

"This is fairly important, actually," Ichigo put in helpfully. Apparently that was what Soifon needed to hear, because she let us through. We made our way toward Ichibantai barracks. Naruto was practically speechless, so far, and stared around in awe.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, Gobantai taicho!" the captain called up to the guards. The heavy door swung open and I restrained Naruto as he started walking toward the wall, amazed.

Ichigo knocked on the door to Sōtaichō's office. "Enter," the man's thick, powerful voice said.

We did so, and I sat far enough away that would be respectful and appropriate considering my rank. Kurosaki and Naruto walked up and stood in front of the captain.

"So you are Uzumaki Naruto, I take it?" Yamamoto assumed.

"Hai. And you are Yamamoto Sōtaichō?" Naruto returned, trying to be equally powerful.

"Yes. Is there something you wanted to discuss?"

"I wanted to personally answer your letter, and make a request. First, I agree with everything on the paper you gave me; it was a very good compromise. Our lands can benefit equally from an alliance, but I also understand that will take time to build, which leads me to my request. Or rather, my suggestion," Naruto explained, all business. It never ceased to amuse me when I looked back on the twelve-year-old Naruto and compared him to the Sixth Hokage version of Naruto. "In order to build this alliance, I think it would be beneficial to learn about each land's history and culture. You are welcome to send as many people as you want to learn about the Elemental Countries, and I would like for my appointed ambassador to stay here and learn about Soul Society," he gestured to me and I tensed just a little and the sudden attention to me.

"I agree," Sōtaichō nodded a tiny bit. "I will send a taicho and fuku-taicho pair back to your country with you. And we will allow Sukai Sora to stay with us for as long as it takes for her to learn our history," the man slammed his staff into the ground officially. Naruto agreed visibly, still awed.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. Send a Jigokuchō to Kuchiki Byakuya and Abarai Renji telling them about this," Ichigo nodded and vanished. Minutes later, two men appeared in the room. Their backs were facing me, so I didn't see their faces. One was the captain, with a thick white scarf around his neck and his hair was parted carefully into ceremonial hairpieces. The back of his haori had the kanji for 'six.' His fuku-taicho was a man with blazing red hair in a knot like Shikamaru's, only a little more lethal and pointy-looking.

"We are ready to leave," the captain said in an even monotone.

"Leave then," the staff pounded the ground once again.

Naruto quickly came over to me before he left. "Kami, he's like a second Neji. Anyway, you know my expectations. I'll make sure your family knows what's going on."

"Thanks, Naruto. Go on, _Hokage-sama,_" I teased. He rolled his eyes and waved as he left the room with the pineapple-head and the Neji wannabe.

I kept my head bowed and waited for the Sōtaichō to say something. I realized suddenly that we hadn't been alone before now. I still felt his chakra weighing on my shoulders, but I kept my composure and stayed put.

"You will stay with Unohana Retsu and squad four, due to your healing abilities," he informed me. "My fuku-taicho will lead you there. Learn your way as you walk."

I nodded, swallowing the fear that was slowly building on my heart. A man with a wispy mustache and white hair appeared out of nowhere and exited the room. I hurried to catch up and heard the office door close behind me.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: so, i dont think i have any more followers, but i have been reading TONS of crossovers recently, so i figured 'why the hell not?' and wrote another chapter. and im writing more as you read. :)**

**so, i drew a picture of a 14-year-old Miharu Hyuga. i think ill make this story like the 'epilogue' of my story "Frosted Wings" and the sequel to that, which i havent written yet.**

**anyway, if you wanna see, ill put the link on my profile, nice and visible. :)**

**enjoy! xoxo, Lala**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Hello again, Sukai-san," the woman taicho smiled, eyes closed.

I bowed. "And you as well, Unohana-taicho."

"This is my fuku-taicho," Unohana stepped aside to reveal a tall girl with grey eyes and short silver hair, similar to Kakashi's in color, with tiny braids on the right side of her head. She wore a wooden badge around her left arm, and her Shihakushō—Kyōraku had told me the name of the Shinigami uniform—held no color or significance.

She bowed respectfully. "I'm Kotetsu Isane," she said formally.

"It's nice to meet you," I bowed back.

"We've assigned a room for you. I think you'll like it, if you can tolerate the squad members," Unohana started walking, and I followed.

"Oh, I've dealt with my fair share of comrades. I'll be just fine," I chuckled, thinking of Kiba, Lee, and Shikamaru in particular.

"I'm glad," she replied. We reached a sliding door at the end of one hall. "This is it. Please make yourself at home," Unohana nodded and left. Isane stayed behind for a moment.

"If you need anything, just ask me. I'll help in any way I can. Other than that, I think the room is stocked with blankets and things," she bowed as well and made to leave.

I stopped her. "Kotetsu-san, I would like to talk with Unohana-taicho and you in private later on; when would be a good time for that?" I asked.

"Um, I'm not sure… I'll speak with Unohana-taicho and send someone for you," we nodded to each other and went our separate ways.

The inside of the room reminded me achingly of my room back in the Hyuga manor. The floors were made with tatami mats, and I slid off my boots as I entered. I found a futon in the closet, and blankets were there too, like Kotetsu had said. The bathroom was equipped with the basic supplies, as well. I sighed.

When Neji and I had gotten married, we'd bought a small, one-story home away from the mansion. We'd wanted a place to raise our family and live on our own together. House hunting had been miserable, though, and our house did everything _but_ resemble our old home. I secretly missed the sliding doors, the gardens, the courtyard, and the wooden flooring.

I sat down next to the table, and lay my head against the cool, polished wood. I closed my eyes just for a second, and took in the feeling of the area.

As an ANBU agent, I had perfected my skills and I was capable of so many things it made my head hurt. In training for the ANBU exam, I had done my absolute best to rid myself of excess emotion.

That had failed, of course.

So now I missed my kids, my husband, my best friends, even Mei's annoying persistence to never retire. It wasn't that I wanted to go home, I had things to do here, but I looked forward to writing to them.

I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until I heard a knock on my door and the sun had gone down in the sky. I rubbed my face as I stood up, going to the door. "Hello?" I asked, trying to sound awake.

"Unohana-taicho said she wanted to talk to you," a man with shaggy brown hair told me.

"Arigato, sir." I stepped out and closed my door behind me. "Where would she be?"

"In her study. Down the hall, second door on your right."

"Thank you." As we diverged I tensed up. Think about it; I was in an unknown universe, surrounded by unknown people using unknown techniques to do to unknown things for unknown purposes.

I was a little nervous.

I knocked on the study door. "Come in," Unohana's voice said softly. Carefully, I entered and immediately noticed the certain lack of a fuku-taicho.

She glanced at me, barely looking up from the book in her hands. "Oh, yes, you wanted to talk to me," she continued reading.

"U-um, Taicho," I wasn't sure where to begin. "Well, I took another look at Ukitake-taicho's lungs," I guessed that was a place to start.

"I'm sure you saw the problem," she sighed. "I can't seem to get rid of that bacteria. I really don't know how much time is left for my old friend."

"I took the liberty of asking an old friend of mine while I was back home," I continued. "She called the condition 'Tuberculosis.'" She looked up at me, as if saying 'and your point is?' "She is an expert in poisons and antidotes. As a general rule, she is the best medic we have. She even surpassed her shishou long ago. When she was sixteen, she developed a solution made of several herbs and fluids from our countries. Once she has the solution, she can extract anything from a body," I hoped sincerely that she would catch on.

She did. "You think she could extract the virus?"

"Actually, I think… I could do it…" I realized I was wringing my hands as I spoke. I stopped. "She taught me some things a few years ago and I put them to use in the war a little while back."

"You're saying you could cure Ukitake."

"Hai." I looked up—I hadn't even realized I'd been looking down—and her eyes were burning through me. Her gaze felt heavy, and I knew immediately that she didn't believe me. She didn't even trust me, for that matter. I bit my lip and brushed my hair behind my ear. "I know it sounds unbelievable…"

"Yes, it does."

"I know, and I'm sorry I brought it up, but while I'm here would you listen to what I have to say?" I half begged, leaning forward.

"…Hai."

"Well, the solution isn't a magic liquid," I began. "The process is painful, but you can extract particles from another body…" I began to explain the solution that could very possibly save a man's life.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

I felt a chakra next to the door just as I finished talking. Our heads turned to the sliding door and Ukitake Juushiro made his way in.

"Sukai-san," he said in surprise. "I didn't know you were back. It's nice to see you again," he smiled. My heart felt just a little warmer at the gesture. He faced Unohana and sat down, like he was used to the movement. She just turned around and took a small bottle of what looked like herbs and started to make tea.

"We were just speaking of you, Ukitake-taicho," she said idly.

"Really? Good things, I hope…" he chuckled.

"Actually, we wee talking about your illness," she said quite bluntly. A look passed between them, and I got the feeling that he knew she didn't like me much.

"What about it?" he asked.

"I'll let her explain," she nodded to me. My mouth moved to talk, but nothing came out. I swallowed and tried again.

"I spoke to my friend," I decided to start there. "She had experience with the condition and said the best way to treat was exactly how you've been treating it," I nodded generously to Unohana. "I asked her if there was a way to extract the virus lining your lungs, and the only way she knew was not exactly the answer I would have preferred," I pursed my lips.

"Go on," Ukitake prompted gently.

"There's a mix of herbs and liquids that she had put together a while back, that she uses to extract poisons in lethal situations," I sighed. "It essentially extracts particles from the tissues in one's body."

"The downside is that it is extremely painful," Unohana put in, "and it doesn't guarantee a full recovery." She gave him a look again. I swore I saw him shudder under her gaze.

"What are the odds?" he asked.

"I would say the chances of full recovery are about 50/50. However, I believe that I can remove the majority of the virus and the rest could be treated normally," I added to Unohana, who hadn't heard that before. "Tea and antibiotics are actually very helpful."

"The tea is ready," Unohana said after a minute of silence. She poured the herbal tea into a cup and handed it carefully to Ukitake. He blew away the delicious-smelling steam and took a sip.

"I will think on it," he said finally. "I want to learn more about he possibility of the situation. For now, I think you should focus on learning more about Soul Society. I'm assuming that's your mission now." I nodded.

"Speaking of which, Sukai-san," Unohana said, "I can recommend you to the tenth division for a tour guide."

"Are you sure?" Ukitake eyed her. She nodded.

"They're very nice people. Fuku-taicho Matsumoto will love you, I'm sure."

"Thank you very much," I bowed, despite my sitting position. "Which direction should I start walking?" I asked, a little embarrassed.

"That way, just a little while," Ukitake pointed the opposite way I'd come. "You'll see the doors."

I stood. "Arigtagozaimashita," I bowed and padded out of the room.

Feeling incredibly awkward, I slid on my shoes back at my room and started in the supposed direction of the tenth division's barracks.

Ukitake was right; it wasn't hard to find.

On my way there, I'd passed the eleventh division where a man that, for some reason, reminded me of Jiraiya in appearance was chasing Kurosaki. Only, his hair was black and was directed up, instead of down like a mane. And he wore an eye patch. And his clothes looked torn. So really, he shouldn't have reminded me of Jiraiya at all.

Either way, the eleventh division was rowdy and powerful, but they seemed to be like genin in maturity level. Needless to say, I rushed past them and went straight to Jubantai.

I wasn't sure how I was supposed to enter. I awkwardly stood there outside the gate, hoping for an idea to pop into my head. When none came, I went with the next best idea.

"Sukai Sora sent by Unohana-taicho!" I called up shakily. The man watching the gate looked down at me and reeled back in slight surprise. I had to admit; I must have looked odd, especially without a Shihakushō or zanpakuto. However, the man let me through. I stepped through the door and followed a path through a rather empty courtyard. I noticed that the grass was a little flat, like there was blankets on top a lot of the time.

I turned a corner and followed the sound of a woman yelled incoherently.

"I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME," she said. "COME OUT, YOU STUPID CAT!"

She must have heard me approach, and thought I was the supposed cat, because she punched me on the head without a second thought. My eyes watering a little, I rubbed my head, just a _little _annoyed that a second Sakura existed.

"OH KAMI-SAMA. I AM _SO _SORRY!" she knelt down to me and tried to get a good look at my head.

"It's fine…" I mumbled. _Oh God. Could she be a Sakura-Naruto **hybrid**? _I shivered at the thought. I finally looked up to get a good look at her.

She had light, long, strawberry-blonde hair that hung luxuriously around her shoulders. She also had glimmering blue eyes and a beauty mark next to her mouth. Her Shihakushō hung loose, showing her cleavage _quite _prominently. He had a chain necklace that hung between her breasts, and a slender pink scarf around her neck. She stared at me in an eerily Naruto-like way.

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" she asked in a quieter tone. Her voice was a little mocking, like she constantly had marbles in her mouth.

"I suppose you could call it that…" I took her hand and she helped me off the ground where I'd fallen.

"What do you need?"

"Unohana-taicho sent me here for… how did she put it… a tour guide," I shrugged.

"OH! THAT'S ME!" she threw her hands up. "Hold on, a sec, I have to get my stupid zanpakuto." She turned around and I saw her pull a katana out of the floorboards.

"Matsumoto…" I heard a grumbly voice behind me. I jumped and made way as soon as I saw the newcomer was a captain.

"Yeeeesss, Taicho?" the woman, Matsumoto, asked, a little whiny.

"I thought I told you to stop putting holes in my _floor_," he gestured to the slice marks in the floor.

"Nee, don't blame _me,_" she whined again, "blame Haineko-baka!"

"And how exactly am I supposed to blame a sword for holes in the ground?" the captain, whose haori had the kanji for 'ten' on it, retorted.

He had hair just a little whiter than Kakashi's, stuck up unnaturally, with a small tuft of bangs over his left eye. He was short, maybe the size of a twelve-year-old, and even from the comical situation he was in with Matsumoto, I could sense a cold aura around him. His turquoise eyes flashed, and I froze for a split second before I mentally confirmed he was a cold person.

"Now sit down and do your paperwork!" he finished ordering her.

"But Taicho! The new girl needs a tour!" she finally made my presence known. The small captain's eyes locked onto me, and I smiled nervously.

"Who sent you?" he asked.

"Unohana-taicho," I answered immediately.

"…Fine. Hurry up, Matsumoto," he glared daggers at the woman.

"Haii!" Still baffled, I turned to follow Matsumoto on her way out.

"Sukai-san," the captain said from behind me. I turned to look at him. "For future reference: my name is Hitsugaya Toshiro. I'm the captain on the tenth division. The woman is my fuku-taicho, Matsumoto Rangiku."

I bowed. "Arigato, Hitsugaya-taicho." And I rushed after the fuku-taicho.

"C'mon, c'mon! Renji and Kuchiki-taicho are sparring!" she skipped backwards, waiting for me to catch up.

"Renji, Matsumoto-fuku-taicho?" I cocked my head a little when I caught up.

"Just Matsumoto," she smiled. "Abarai Renji is the fuku-taicho of squad six!"

"Oh! I know who you're talking about!" I gasped, remembering the pair that had escorted Naruto back to my world.

"Do you?" Matsumoto's dainty eyebrows rose.

I nodded. "They're sparring?" That would be interesting to watch.

"They do that _all _the time now," she smiled. We passed the gate for Squad eight, a gate I recognized. "How many of the taichos and fuku-taichos do you know?" she asked. Then she stopped and turned around to me. "Wait a second, I don't even know who you are," she eyed me. I noticed the sudden change in her tone, from a playful whine to a serious growl.

"Oh! I'm Sukai Sora, Matsumoto-san. I'm… a delegate of sorts," I grinned sheepishly.

She looked me over. "Alrighty, then!" she kept walking.

I saw the spar before we actually got there. There was a massive snake-looking thing, made of what looked like dried bamboo, with a bone skull and a bright red mane. I gaped at it for what seemed like forever. Then I was interrupted by the whoosh of about ten thousand sakura petals.

"That's them," Matsumoto waved me over and I hesitantly followed her over the short wall near the training ground.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: R&R! and follow the story! it's actually going somewhere!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: so i was wondering; which taicho/fuku-taicho pair do you think i should send to the Elemental Countries? not Ichigo, hes already gone... maybe Ukitake or Kuchiki? your thoughts? leave me a review :)**

**anyway, im cancelling my bleach fic (it's seriously going nowhere). i hope readers from there will start reading this one. ANYWAY.**

**enjoy the chapter! xoxo, Lala**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"That's them," Matsumoto waved me over and I hesitantly followed her over the short wall near the training ground.

Indeed, the two men were facing off, the captain barely looking a little winded while the vice captain looked exhausted and sweaty. The snake-like thing, which turned out to be the redhead's zanpakuto, shrank and reverted back to a normal sword.

"You're bankai needs work," the captain said evenly; Kuchiki Byakuya, if I remembered correctly.

"Hai, Taicho," Abarai Renji panted and sheathed his sword. He caught Matsumoto's orange hair. "Matsumoto-san!" he said in surprise.

"Yo!" she waved sweetly.

"What's up?" he came over. Whether he saw me, I had no idea.

"Just showing the new girl around," she moved a little so I was visible. Abarai's eyes widened.

"Sukai-san! It's nice to officially meet you," he bowed a tiny bit.

I chuckled. "I'm gonna be here for a while. You can call me Sora if I can call you by your first name," I smiled.

He shrugged. "Fine by me," he held his hand out. "Abarai Renji, nice to meet you."

"Sukai Sora, it's a pleasure," I laughed when we shook hands.

"HEY!" Matsumoto whined and smacked Renji's hand away, taking mine. "Matsumoto Rangiku."

"Hello, Rangiku, Renji," I smiled.

"So what all has she shown you so far?" Renji asked.

"Nothing, yet. We came straight here."

"Come with me, then," he took my elbow and led my toward the buildings that I assume were the squad six barracks. "Taicho!" he called. I blinked.

"What is it, Abarai?" the man paused in the fluid walk.

"I wanted to officially introduce Sukai-san, sir," he took a step back. "I know you were introduced at the captain's meeting, but she was here anyway, so…"

I smiled and shook my head. "It's very nice to meet you, Kuchiki-taicho. I'll be honest, you remind me very much like someone I know," I restrained from giggling, reminding myself that this man wasn't just a captain; he was a noble as well. I bowed low.

"And you as well. Has anyone escorted you around Seireitei yet?"

"Matsumoto-fuku-taicho was given the task, sir. I think Abarai-fuku-taicho wished to join us as well, if that is alright by you."

"Go," he told the redhead. "Don't do anything stupid," he eyed Matsumoto, who had come behind us.

"Hai," Renji replied. The captain nodded and strode away, seemingly not touching the ground. After a moment of walking back outdoors, Renji turned to me. "Sora, who does he remind you of?"

I broke down laughing for a good minute, receiving baffled looks from just about everyone around us. Wiping water from my eyes, I giggled. "You don't actually want to know," I smiled widely. "It would creep you out."

Well, I couldn't exactly tell them my husband was the same type of person, now could I?

Somewhere along the line, we ended up at the squad five barracks, where I greeted Ichigo and met Kuchiki Rukia, whom I found out was the noble captain's adoptive sister, who was the recent fuku-taicho under Kurosaki. After a sudden comparison to Hinata, I laughed again and was basically forced into eventually telling them why I did so.

As we kept walking, we passed squad four and then squad three, where there was only an acting captain, Izuru Kira. I greeted him, and we left again shortly. We skipped squad two, then squad one, and found ourselves all the way around at squad thirteen; we were walking in a circle. I waved to Ukitake and his co-third-seats, as Renji put it, as we passed.

The twelfth division was a… unique experience. We passed as man in what _must _have been a headdress and wore a taicho's haori, accompanied by a beautiful woman with a blank face. As soon as they came into view, my two new friends thrust me away in a bush with a yelp.

"Nani?" I demanded.

"Shh," they returned. "We don't want Kurotsuchi to see us!" Matsumoto explained.

"Why?"

"Because he's bound to be curious about you!"

"Is that bad?"

"YES." They said in unison, unblinking.

"What's this?" a voice hissed above us. I turned, unsurprised, to look at the yellow teeth of Kurotsuchi Mayuri. I noted the guilty looks of the fuku-taichos next to me.

"Hello, Kurotsuchi-taicho. My friends here were just giving me a tour today. We weren't in your way, were we?" I asked.

"…No, I suppose not." He said grudgingly. His face was painted black and white, and he had flat gold irises. I shivered involuntarily at the resemblance to Orochimaru.

When he kept staring at me with a slightly annoyed, slightly curious, slightly bored look on his face my smile got fake. "Is there something I can help you with?" I asked.

"Actually, I would _very _much like for you to become my test subject," he said bluntly, his own smile forming. "Yamamoto said you can't, but if it's voluntary…" he giggled manically.

"Well, I'm going to have to respectfully decline," I bowed a little, my smile obvious fake by now. Then the scowling captain went to say something but I missed it as I was whisked away by a terrified Renji and Rangiku.

"Phew, glad that was over quickly," Renji panted.

"No kidding," Matsumoto mimicked him.

"Okay…" I drawled.

"Hiya!" a little voice shocked me forward. I whirled around to see a tiny girl, coming only to just above my knees with bubblegum hair and magenta eyes; she carried a zanpakuto and a cheerful grin. "Who're you?"

"My name is Sukai Sora," I bent my knees to look her in the eye and held out my hand to her. I smiled. "It's very nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"Yachiru, don't run around like that," a gravelly voice rumbled far above my head. I restrained a shiver at the man's powerful chakra and stood to face him.

"Sorry, Ken-chan! Look! I found Tori-chan!" she announced excitedly.

"Bird-chan?" I whispered to the fuku-taichos next to me.

"I'm sorry for you," Renji nodded solemnly.

"So you're the ninja, eh?" the voice grumbled again.

"Hai," I bowed. "You're the eleventh division's captain, right?"

"Hai."

"Nice to meet you."

"…You don't seem that powerful to me," he leaned over and inspected me.

A tick throbbed in my forehead. "Well, I am, I promise. Now if you'll excuse me."

"If that's true, then fight me."

I stared at the man. He was definitely daunting. In fact, I rather didn't _want _to fight him. However, his smile said that he wouldn't give me a break. He would find me eventually.

"If I fight you, it'll only be this once, right?" I confirmed.

"That depends on who wins," his grin grew.

"Okay, so if I win, I never have to fight you again. If I lose… what?"

"We fight again."

"Tch. Fine," I groaned. "Lead the way, Taicho."  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"I'll referee," a man looking very dressed up with an orange sweater and colorful feathers in his eyebrow and eyelashes on the right side. Near him was a bald man with red around his eyes.

"Whatever," the captain said. I nodded.

"Begin," the pretty-boy yawned and leaned against the tree next to his friend.

Almost immediately, Zaraki attacked full-force. He seemed to be like Naruto that way. I dodged for a little while, not pulling any weapons. His katana was old and badly cared for; I could tell by the cut-up edge. In a tiny break in his swings, I lithely back flipped away. I flew through signs while on the run and made a shadow clone—a necessary jutsu to become a jounin, courtesy of Naruto.

I darted away as my clone did its best to dodge some more. I pulled my katana and swung through once of twice to readjust my muscles. My clone was gone in a second and I swung upward to block a strike at my head. The man was powerful; I didn't last long before I had to move away.

I was one of very few in ANBU that had a full-length katana. Most agents would only carry the half-sword. I had taken a liking to the full-size and chose that instead. Upon further inspection, my sword had taken a thin slice from Kenpachi's. I bit my lip. I made another clone, who went into parries and blocks while I backed away and made seals.

"Fuuton: Great Vacuum Cannon!" I shouted and blew the chakra cannonballs out of my mouth. I hit the giant man in the back three times of the four, and when he turned around, he had blood on his chin. Yet, he was smiling like a mad man.

"Fight me for real!" he charged me and I blocked with my katana. My chakra was to about its halfway point, so I took a deep breath. Kenpachi wasn't about to give me many more opportunities to get the upper hand. I _seriously _doubted he would give up, and he hadn't even released his zanpakuto yet, whatever that meant. I made a different move.

Kenpachi's face when he noticed he was fighting a log with a twig: priceless.

In a flurry of feathers, I flew about his head with wings in place. I got a little lower and surrounded myself to block again. At a slight opening, I pried the wings apart and pushed Kenpachi, now laughing manically, back a few feet. Without hesitation, I shot sharp feathers and managed to hit point in his neck and arms that would render him paralyzed.

Still knowing he wouldn't give up—especially when I saw his face—I linked more feathers together to make a sort of blanket and pinned him to the ground. Staggering, I stood about him and held my almost-broken katana to his throat.

"I won," I panted. My vision was getting blurry. "Admit that and I'll let you… go…" I almost fell over.

"For now," he admitted. I sheathed my sword and released my jutsu, feathers disappearing. I fell on my butt and my eyelids drooped.

"Sukai-san?" the 'referee' asked as he came over at a leisurely pace.

"I'm fine…" I fumbled through my hip pouch, through kunai handles and shuriken, to find the sack of food pills. Once I found them, I popped one in my mouth and chomped down. In about 45 seconds, I could see clearly again.

"See? Fine," I smiled at Rangiku and Matsumoto, who had been slightly concerned once I fell.

"Good to hear," Renji nodded. "Come on, we ave to drop Matsumoto off at her barracks."

"Hai," I braced myself and stood. I turned around to the captain and bowed. "Thank you for the spar," I said and ran after the two fuku-taichos.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Hitsugaya-taicho!" Renji knocked on the office door. I stood a little behind him, watching amusedly as he gripped Rangiku for dear life. She had been trying to escape for the last ten minutes—mind you, that was how long it took to get to the office—and Renji obviously didn't feel like chasing her down.

"Come in," the captain called back. We entered and quickly shut the door behind us, trapping the fuku-taicho. She whined until getting a cold glare from her captain. "Thanks for returning her. Abarai, your taicho wanted you back at the barracks."

"Hai, Taicho. Good-bye, Sora," he bowed with a little smirk. I nodded back.

"I should be getting back to squad four as well. Sir," I bowed and left him staring after me, brow knit.

Once back at squad four, I went straight to my room. Unohana was busy treating people and I didn't want to bother someone who already didn't like me. As I entered my room, I noticed a set of clothes folded neatly on the bed. When I looked up close, they were the uniform I'd seen on the Shinigami of every squad. I picked up the inner shirt, a white one, and started piecing together the outfit. A black shirt went over the white one. They both tucked into a pair of black hakama pants. A white belt went around the pants and you had to cinch it tightly. There were also thick white socks with one toe, and straw sandals that I actually found incredibly obnoxious. I felt relieved to remember seeing many people walking around without them on.

I put my shinobi clothes back on, minus the armor, and just as I was putting my new shoes next to my boots by the door, someone knocked. I put on my regulation sandals and shuffled to the door.

"Sukai Sora, right?" a small woman asked. She had a collar sticking out of her uniform and wore large gloves. Her grey eyes sparkled and were framed by very short, dark blonde hair.

"Hai," I said nervously.

She breathed a sigh in relief. "Hi, I'm Kotetsu Kiyone, third-seat under Ukitake-taicho."

"Oh, yeah! I've heard of you," I nodded.

"Ukitake-taicho wanted to tell you something," she smiled. "Come with me."

"Okay. Just a second," I wanted to switch my shoes. I slid on the boots and hooked my hip pouch on and followed Kiyone out of the barracks.

"There they are," Ukitake said to a man holding a metal tray.

"What took so long booger-girl? Did you get lost?" AH. So that's Sentarou.

"NO WAY! I'm not even late, stupid!"

"You're always late," he teased.

"Let's… go," Ukitake pointed to the door. I nodded eagerly. We sat on the wood floor outside the room. Ukitake let his legs hang off the edge and I sat with my legs off to the side, my arm supporting the rest of me.

"What was it you want to tell me? Kiyone-san said…" I trailed off.

He chuckled. "No, if I'm honest, I was just trying to separate the two for a while and you seemed like pleasant company."

"I'm glad you think so," I smiled.

"How was your tour?"

"I met most of the taichos. I think the only one I didn't meet was… seventh squad."

"Komamura-taicho," Ukitake nodded. "I believe he is on assignment in the world of the living."

"What? You mean my village?"

"No," he smiled and shook his head. "Another world of the living. Kurosaki Ichigo lives there. He is the only human captain in existence."

"What? The only captain still… alive?" it sounded strange to say. "That's impressive, isn't it? I mean, I don't know much, but…"

"Yes, it is. He has always had considerable powers. It caused us a lot of grief not long ago."

"Sounds like Naruto."

"You seem very close to him," Ukitake said curiously.

"Yeah. He is a very close friend. He were in the same graduating class as me. In general, we grew up together. And when the war broke out over the jinchuuriki…" I paused. "You haven't got a clue what I'm saying, right?"

"No."

I took a deep breath. "Naruto is what's called a Jinchuuriki. Jinchuuriki are normal people that contain demons spirits. Naruto contains the spirit of a demon called Kyuubi no Kitsune. There are nine of these tailed beasts, and each of the five elemental countries in my world fought over custody of the different Jinchuuriki." I glanced at him to make sure he was keeping up. He nodded.

"Naruto has been the Kyuubi's container since the day he was born, when the demon attacked our village. Half of its chakra was sealed into Naruto, a baby less than an hour old, and the other half was sealed into his father, the caster of the technique, who then died. Since then, everyone in the village hated him and thought he _was _the monster."

"But that couldn't be fair," Ukitake's brow was furrowed. "To blame a child for something done to him?"

"That's exactly how I reacted when I found out."

"You didn't know already?"

I shook my head. "The Sandaime Hokage put out a rule that said anyone who talked about it would be punished. He was trying to secure Naruto's future. But it didn't work. The adults rubbed off on our generation and everyone hated Naruto."

"That sounds like an awful childhood."

"There are a few Jinchuuriki that strayed from a good path," I nodded and thought of Gaara. "The best part about Naruto is his gift of changing people around him." I smiled warmly.

"What do you mean?"

"Um… well, let's take my husband for example. Neji's father was killed when he was five. Neji found out reasons to believe that another branch of his family was behind it, and felt locked in a path that he couldn't stray from. Then, he met Naruto," I openly grinned at the memory and looked to my left, at Ukitake's wondering eyes.

"You see: I grew up with Neji as well. Never before had I seen his eyes so hopeful and free. Naruto forced Neji to believe that he made his own destiny and forged his own future. It's the only reason Neji is so happy today."

"The power to change people," Ukitake nodded. "Yes, that sounds like Ichigo."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: R&R!**

**i think that was a decent length, dont u? anyway, thanks everyone for reading! i appreciate it! dont forget to tell me what captain to send in. ^_^ xoxo, Lala**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: so im really sorry in advance for the short chapter (its kinda rushed too :P). its just, i plan on exposing the captain visitor next chapter, so this is the buildup... sorta? anyway, enjoy what's there! and review!**

**xoxo, Lala**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"You see: I grew up with Neji as well. Never before had I seen his eyes so hopeful and free. Naruto forced Neji to believe that he made his own destiny and forged his own future. It's the only reason Neji is so happy today."

"The power to change people," Ukitake nodded. "Yes, that sounds like Ichigo." A silence fell and we listened to the clunk of the bamboo fountain in the garden.

"Anyway," I continued after a while. "There was an organization called Akatsuki, run by a man with immense power and a taste for revenge. He gathered all the Jinchuuriki except the Hachibi host, Killer Bee, and Naruto. If they all combined, the ten-tailed demon would break free and wreak havoc. The man in charge of Akatsuki had the power to control it though, so he planned to destroy the entire world by becoming the ten-tails Jinchuuriki."

"Sounds like a war," Ukitake was listening carefully.

I nodded grimly. "The five countries formed a one-time alliance. It was amazing. However, the war was awful. So many of my friends died. And as a medic, I saw some horrible things. I even saw an enemy perfectly replicate Neji and try to kill a close friend. But then Naruto showed up in the thick of it all and took out the ones impersonating comrades and ended that attack. He battled old enemies that had been risen from the dead, and by the end, he was named Hokage."

"Why did he want to be Hokage?" Ukitake asked.

I laughed. "I was waiting for you to ask that. Naruto wanted everyone in the village to recognize him and respect him. That was his one and only goal: to become Hokage and protect Konoha. It seemed stupid and childish at first, but it grew into a serious goal by the time he turned sixteen. And he never gave up. Never broke a promise."

"He sounds like a marvelous person," Ukitake smiled. "I'm glad such a person exists."

"Yeah. We're pretty lucky to have him."  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

After my talk with Ukitake, I slipped out and went back to my room. The stars were coming out and the moon shone brightly. I entered the barracks almost silently, with a nod to the guards outside. Once in my room, I lit a lantern and started grinding ink. I took my brush and began writing what I had said and what I now knew on a sheet of flattened paper. I signed it fluidly just as the last of my ink was leaving the brush.

Once it was dry, I folded the paper and smoothed out a new one.

_Neji,_

_I don't know how much Naruto will tell you, but I'm going to be gone for a while. A couple weeks. I'm learning about a new culture we discovered, and I think I might be making history (I can hope, can't I?). I feel sort of useless, though; they're culture is barely different. It's just a little old-fashioned._

_Tell Ayumu and Miharu whatever you like, and there'd better not be scribbles on the wall when I get home. You know the protocol. You'll be taken off active duty until I get back. I've asked Naruto to make sure you guys don't go crazy. As for you, I recommend you finish all the reports on your desk and look after your squad, okay?_

_I miss you. I miss Izumi, and Sunai, and I miss my babies, but I miss you the most, alright? You better miss me back or those stupid scribbles on the wall will be the last thing you ever see._

_Love you,_

_Sora_

Feeling satisfied, I folded the paper and tucked them both safely away in the desk until Thursday came.  
>XXXXXXXXX<p>

And it came fast.

Just three days in Soul Society felt like just one in my head. Everything was so fast-paced, I didn't realize I'd fallen into the swing of things until someone told me it was Thursday. I had thanked them profusely and run back to my room. I opened the desk and tied the two notes together with a blue string. I ran back out of my room, dodging a terrified Yamada Hanatarou, and ran out toward the forest.

I found the crack and slipped through carefully, after a warning from one of Soifon's men. I found the guard standing alert, and I handed him the letter.

He bounded away, and I sighed. "Now I have to go back. What I would give for one day in Konoha." Straightening my shoulders, I slid back through the crack and nodded to the guard as I ran away again.

"Team 17, head to Squad Eleven barracks," the third-seat's voice hammered across the intercom. I sighed and mock-saluted. I hated going to squad eleven. I had to see Kenpachi, and then I had to heal men that had hurt themselves being stupid brutes. I rolled my eyes and hurried to catch up with the others.

"Sora-san!" my friend Ayane called.

"Hey, Ayane-san," I greeted. "Is everyone else already there or something?"

"No, they flaked out," she stuck her tongue out.

"Well that's rude of them."

"Get used to it," she said not for the first time.

"Let's go, then," I shrugged. It was midday, so I had just finished eating. I was glad I had; healing half a bunch of wounded idiots would have been difficult had I not.

"Sukai," a voice growled above me as I finished healing the seventh seat. I let my head droop.

"Zaraki-taicho, for the final time, I don't want to fight you," I insisted.

"Too bad, because _I _want to fight _you!_" he slammed his sword into the floor and I dodged the resulting bits of wood shrapnel.

"Zaraki-taicho, I really have things to do. If you'll excuse me, I can get Kurosaki-taicho?" I suggested.

"Do it then," the man-beast. "I could use a good excercise."

"Be right back," I bolted out the door, followed by Ayane. I ran past the orange-haired captain. "Zaraki's looking for you," and I got the Hell out of there. I only stopped when I got back to the fourth squad's barracks, panting.

"I thought you beat Zaraki-taicho," Ayane huffed.

"Yeah, but I'd rather not do it again, thanks very much," I inhaled and finally stopped panting. "Now, I have a break, so I'm going to do laundry. What about you?"

"I have a lunch date," Ayane took off her squad four gear. "He offered to buy me coffee while I ate."

"Aw, cute," I smiled.

"Yeah, he's a real nice guy. Well, I'll see you!" she waved and ran off toward the food district of the Seireitei. I waved at her back and started toward my room to get my clothes together.

When I'd prepared for the mission, I had only brought along three sets of clothes as I always did on missions nowadays. I hadn't thought of such a long mission as this. So I gathered my clothes in a bag—putting on my Shinigami uniform—and carried it toward the room everyone pointed to. I put them through the wash and finally got them into the dryer—all the while thanking Kami that they used the same machines I did—and walked back out to wait for it to go off.

I had been sitting next to the rock garden for almost five minutes when I sensed a massive chakra coming toward me from down the hall. I sighed and leaned my head against the wood fence. Would I ever get some rest?

As he approached, I stood. "Kuchiki-taicho," I greeted.

"Sōtaichō Yamamoto has ordered me to inform you of certain things," he replied in his ever-present, ever-expected monotone.

"Things…?" I prompted.

"Come with me." I nodded, my brow furrowed.

We ended up in a large, cavernous room with lots of mechanical buttons and blinking lights on a panel in the center.

"What is this place?" I asked in awe.

"It is the only place where everything is recorded. Anything done in Soul Society is etched here whether we wish it or not."

"Nice," I whispered. He glanced back at me like he was curious, but that soon vanished. "So why have you brought me here?"

"We found it would be easier to explain it if you were to see it all yourself," the man pressed his fingers rapidly against the glass panel and a screen appeared above it. I kept a straight face despite my amazement. Maybe they weren't so old-fashioned after all.

I saw images of a brunette man with glasses pinned, bleeding, against a wall by a sword, and the shriek of a woman yelling 'AIZEN-TAICHO!' and I wondered whom he had been. I then saw images of shocked captains as the same man stood before them, an incredibly injured Ichigo at his mercy. Another captain, is eyes covered by dark glasses and wearing a white haori, was behind him somewhat, poised. Matsumoto was in the background, holding hostage a man with silver hair and a creepy smile, also wearing a captain's haori.

"Those are former captains Aizen Sosuke, Tousen Kaname, and Ichimaru Gin. They betrayed us almost a year ago, wanting to build themselves an item called the Ouken, which is kept top-secret. Aizen built a war against Sereitei to get us out of his way, and in the end failed. He was defeated by Kurosaki Ichigo," more images of a long, black-haired Ichigo with a terrifying look on his face. "He is now suffering imprisonment beyond measure," Kuchiki informed me. I could see pictures of a devastated town, crumbling to ruin, and teenagers looking terrified while they carried unconscious friends to supposed safety. I winced, not wanting to remember my own war.

"Ukitake-taicho told us that your country had a war as well. He also introduced an idea to assist each other in rebuilding our societies.

"It's a brilliant idea," I nodded with an apologetic smile. "But our war was eight years ago. We've long since… rebuilt," I couldn't say recovered. Some never would.

"Ukitake also said the same. And our war was almost that long ago as well. However, it brought about the concept that our worlds could assist each other."

"You mean shinobi in Soul Society and Shinigami in Konoha? Maybe…" I nodded thoughtfully. "However, our system is a little more… elaborate. Or maybe 'political' is a better term. There are three countries within our alliance, and they are on fragile terms as it is. _Very _rarely do we come to any agreements and I doubt Amegakure no sato would agree to this," I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "You could try. And I would gladly stand as a witness to our ability to coincide. I recommend you talk to Naruto and Gaara. They will guide the process on our end." I looked toward the entrance where Shunsui and Ukitake stood, thinking they were hiding effectively.

"Very keen," Kyōraku chuckled.

"Who is Gaara?"

I smiled. "Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage. In other words, the leader of Sunagakure no sato and a close friend to a few in Konoha," I laughed at my inside joke. _Iz would kill me._ I thought not for he first time since coming here. "Of the three countries in alliance, Konoha and Suna are the closest. Ame joined us after Naruto's inauguration."

"You're saying that it's possible if we speak with the right people?" Kyōraku asked.

"Hai. And I do recommend doing so after exposure of Shinigami in Konoha. That way you have the village on our side. That's always helpful."

"I will speak to the Sōtaichō," Kuchiki vanished.

"Wha-! How-?" I gaped like a fish.

"Shunpo," Kyōraku shrugged. After seeing my face, he glanced at Ukitake. "You didn't explain this to her already?"

"She never asked," the white-haired captain shrugged back.

"Explain please?" I grinned.

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**A/N: R&R!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: hey guys! sorry, i've been kinda dormant lately. i have so many things to do now. im coaching a softball team with my mom, my sophomore year started up, i've been stressed, -insert more bad excuses here-. oh. and i went though a doctor who/torchwood phase.**

**anyway, i appreciate you sticking with me. it means lots :)**

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**I DO NOT OWN BLEACH OR NARUTO. IF I DID, I WOULD _NOT _BE AT .**

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"Wha-! How-?" I gaped like a fish.

"Shunpo," Kyōraku shrugged. After seeing my face, he glanced at Ukitake. "You didn't explain this to her already?"

"She never asked," the white-haired captain shrugged back.

"Explain please?" I grinned.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"So… reiatsu is chakra," I summed up.

"You say that a lot," Ukitake reasoned. "What is 'chakra'?"

"Put simply, it's the balance of mental and physical power. You are born with physical energy in every cell of your body, and you gain spiritual energy through experience and practice. Basically, the more chakra you have, the more powerful our jutsu will become. And your stamina will increase accordingly."

"So it is similar," Nanao, who joined soon after we left the cavernous room, nodded. "We just use it for different things; like zanpakuto instead of techniques."

"Speaking of," I remembered, "what exactly _is _a zanpakuto?"

"They are an extension of one's soul," Ukitake said. I scratched the back of my head.

"Um…"

"Inside every person, there is a hidden world," Kyōraku stopped and tilted his hat to look at me. I was only an inch or two shorter than him. "Your zanpakuto lives in that world. They have powers that reflect your soul and can materialize."

"Like when you and I fought," I glanced at Ukitake, who nodded with a smile. "But why doesn't Zaraki-taicho's zanpakuto materialize?"

"That's a longer story. Let's finish this explanation first," Shunsui chuckled. We finally reached squad eight barracks, and the man plopped down on the ground and lay back. I stifled a smile.

"Actually, that would continue our explanation," Nanao disagreed then looked at me straight-faced. "The first release of a zanpakuto is called 'shikai.' You saw that with Ukitake-taicho. In order to become a captain, though, you have to achieve 'bankai.'"

"Bankai?"

"The second release," Ukitake put in.

"Yes. It's a closer manifestation of the zanpakuto spirit."

"Wait, if chakra and reiatsu are so similar and everything, would I have a zanpakuto?" I felt excitement bubble in my chest.

"I hadn't thought about it," Kyōraku was clearly lying. "I suppose you could. Of course, it takes ages for Shinigami students to just manifest their swords."

"Yeah, but I already have experience dealing with inner energy," I pointed out. "I have excellent chakra control. That's why I'm a mednin."

"You would have to find out yourself."

"I would do it," I nodded with determination.

"Wait until we have clear outlines for an alliance," Ukitake chuckled again, amusement visible on his pale face. "Then you can train with someone."

I pouted, forgetting my age and rank. "Fine…"  
>XXXXXXXXX<p>

"Sukai-san?"

"Yeah?" I turned around to see Hanatarou holding out a piece of folded paper. My eyes bulged. "Arigato,Yamada-san." I greedily half-ripped the paper out of his fingers. He nodded meekly and scurried off.

I ran to my room, now slightly decorated. I had found some little artsy items around when I'd visited Rukongai a few days ago, and I'd loved them enough to buy them. It turned out that our currency was interchangeable. They used a coin called a kan, which translated to about four ryo per kan. It took some getting used to, but I caught on after a little while.

I tore open the letter, and another fell out from the crease. I read the first one.

_Sora-_

_Thank you for the report, and let me tell you, _everyone_ is waiting for you to come back already. The hospital is going to be overloaded with Sakura-chan out for maternity so I will be stationing you here for a little while._

_Your next job, since your two weeks are up on Saturday, will be to assign the representative for Soul Society so that they may come here, to Konoha. Of course, Yamamoto-jiisan will insist on making the decision himself, but you are to give him recommendations. I want three captains, and vice-captains are allowed of course. I will let you choose who, since you know them best._

_Just make sure they won't mess up the village. We _are _still rebuilding._

_-Rukodaime_

I sighed. In writing, Naruto didn't sound like Naruto. I closed the letter back up and opened the other with slightly more vigor.

_Sora-_

_Naruto told me that we would be allowed to write back and forth, but wouldn't tell me where you are. I trust him, but it's strange to be able to communicate with someone while they're on a mission._

_Perhaps he'll let you explain._

_He also said you would be back on Saturday, so I'll look forward to that. The kids are just as crazy as ever. I've been home almost all day since I have to look after Ayumu while Miharu is away. And when I get out, I can't train because the kid would hurt himself on a tree or something. I'm going to need a team Gai training session when you get back._

_I have news about the sessions with my Uncle and the elders. I will tell you in person. I miss you as well._

_-Neji_

I smiled until I reached the end of the page. News about the Hyugas.

"Knock knock," I recognized Ichigo's voice outside my door. I stood and put on slippers to open the door.

"Hello Kurosaki-taicho. Oh, and hi, Kuchiki-fuku-taicho," I jumped a little at the sudden appearance of the petite woman. She smiled and bowed.

"Hello, Sukai-san. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I just received a letter back from my family, so I'm actually doing quite well," it wasn't a lie, but I felt false; like the details about the Hyugas were weighing down on me.

Kuchiki seemed to notice: her brow furrowed worriedly. "All right…"

"You guys are being weird," Ichigo groaned.

"Shut up Ichigo," Rukia hit him on the head. I smothered a laugh. I'd seen them like this before and it never ceased to remind me of Sakura and Naruto.

"OI!" Ichigo growled. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!"

"For being an idiot, idiot," she explained easily.

"I am _not _an idiot."

"Sure," Rukia shrugged. I grinned. Ichigo glared at her.

"Do you want some tea?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, please," Rukia nodded. Ichigo mimicked her. I nodded back and went to the kitchen to prepare leaves while the two continued bickering.

"So what did you come around for?" I asked as I waited for water to boil.

"Well, it's Thursday right? You got a letter back?" Ichigo rested his hands on his crossed knees.

"Yeah, I did. I've got an assignment," I wrinkled my nose in irritation.

"What is it?" Rukia asked.

"Naruto would like three taichos to come back with me. I just don't know who."

"I could go," Ichigo volunteered.

"Don't be stupid, Ichigo. What about Orihime?"

"Oh yeah…"

I laughed. "You've aleady been, anyway. I was thinking about Kuchiki-taicho," I eyed the younger Kuchiki. "Do you think he would?"

"Nii-sama will go if it is an order from the Sōtaichō. Other than that, I wouldn't know," she explained.

"Don't you talk to him?" I turned to her completely.

"Sometimes, but never about trivial matters like how his day went or the like," she smiled.

"I see," I sighed. "I wonder if all noble clans are like that. I grew up in one, but I never knew the politics of it all."

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked. Suddenly the water went off and I jumped. Ichigo waved me off and gestured for me to keep talking to his fuku-taicho while he got the tea. I blushed in embarrassment and nodded my assent.

"I was adopted into a clan named Hyuga when I was a baby. The Hyugas are strong and noble, much like the Kuchiki clan. They separated themselves into two parts: branch and head. Hizashi and Hiashi, twins, led these families. Hiashi became Head, and Hizashi was stuck below him just for being younger. It led to a lot of strife with a lot of people," I shrugged. "Hizashi-bouyuu was Neji—my husband's—father. And now that I'm married to Neji, he's been constantly fighting and arguing with his uncle over ridiculous noble things."

"Noble crap," Rukia corrected with a grin.

"Definitely," I laughed. "The weird bit is that you don't really look like him, Kuchiki-san," I bit my lip.

"No, I was adopted too. My sister—one I never knew—left me alone in Rukongai when I was a baby. She met Nii-sama and they fell in love. They got married and lived happily until she fell gravely ill," Rukia stared at her hands. "She had been searching for me night and day, regretting her decision to leave me there."

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"Like I said, I never knew her. But in the end, I went to the Shinigami academy and Nii-sama found me and adopted me as his sister."

"Tea," Ichigo appeared with a tray. "Sorry, I went through your kitchen to find the tray."

"No problem." I took the ceramic cup off the tray and blew the steam away. It was still too hot. "So Kurosaki, how did you end up as a Shinigami? From what little I know, you have to be dead for that."

"Oh, now that's a story," Rukia smiled widely. "It was all thanks to me."

"No way! I would have ended up like this anyway!"

"No, you would have _died,_" Rukia pointed out.

"You've lost me," I deadpanned.

"Now _that,_" she laughed, "was inevitable. It's too long a story."

"All right then. So who do you think should go to Konoha?" I sipped my tea.

"If Byakuya goes, we need two more. Maybe… Soifon-taicho?" Kurosaki proposed.

"She would fit in," I nodded, "but she already has so many duties around here."

"True. Maybe Kyōraku-taicho?"

"That's actually a good idea," Rukia put in. "He would be able to think deeply and assess the place."

"So there's sixth squad, eighth squad, and…?" I furrowed my brow for a moment. I shot up. "What about Ukitake-taicho?"

"He's very sick," Rukia said doubtfully. "He might not be up to it."

"I can ask Unohana-taicho for medicinal herbs, and aside from that, he'll have me and my friend Sakura. I'm sure he'd be fine."

"Well, I think Kyōraku and Ukitake-san are a great combination. Seems fine to me," Ichigo shrugged.

"I have my three then. Thanks for your help!" I grinned.

"No problem," Rukia smiled back. "Ichigo, I just remembered something. Shinji said he, Hiyori, and Hachigen were coming to Soul Society next week so you need to start on paperwork for that."

"Ugh," Ichigo groaned. He finished his cup of tea and put it back on the tray. "Those guys always give me Hell. Shame you won't be around for that, " Kurosaki laughed, his eyes sparkling with obvious excitement. "Well, we'd better be going, Sukai-san," he stood and helped Rukia up as well.

"Thanks for coming around. It was nice to see you both," I followed them to the door where they slid on their sandals. I opened the door for them and waved. "Oh, Kuchiki-fuku-taicho!" I said as a thought came to mind.

"Yeah?" Rukia came back.

"If Kuchiki-sama is anything like Neji, you need to make an effort to get close to him. He'll reject you for a while, but keep doing nice things for him, alright?"

"Of course," she bowed a little. "And about the clan: let it all fall into place. They elders make decisions based on clan success, and you need to adapt, however unfortunate that may be. Keep your head up and smile," she surprised me by hugging me. I returned the gesture and smiled as she caught up to Ichigo. I huffed a sigh and returned to my room to wait.

The next day, I was summoned to see Yamamoto for the first time since in the past two weeks. I wrote my recommendations on a ssheet of paper and made my way to the first division barracks, escorted by the Sōtaichō's fuku-taicho. I eyed him warily, noticing his cold and serious composure. I sighed. Not another one.

The doors opened. I entered and bowed with my knees on the floor and my head bowed. Idly I thought about how similar our cultures were, especially toward higher ups.

"You know why I brought you here," Yamamoto rumbled. His voice filled the room.

"Yes, sir. I received the letter that contained my next orders yesterday." The man nodded to tell me to continue. "Naruto-sama requested that three captains and vice-captains accompany me back to Konoha. There are different areas so it may be easier to put it in three parts."

"And your recommendations?"

"I recommend Ukitake-taicho, Kyōraku-taicho, and Kuchiki-taicho."

"Your reasons?"

"Ukitake-san and Kyōraku-taicho get along quite well and sometimes, they act… well I'm sure you know that, but they are both very deep thinkers and _extremely _skilled. Kuchiki-taicho is also quite skilled, and in our village there are several noble families that have exclusive input to decisions Naruto makes. We would like to assign Kuchiki-taicho to the task of informing them," I swallowed to rewet my mouth.

"Fair enough. Sasakibe," the head lieutenant appeared in thin air. "Call squads six, seven, and thirteen here." The black butterflies called Jigokuchō were dispatched and less than ten minutes later, we had gathered together.

"What is it, Yama-jii?"

"You three captains and your fuku-taichos are going to Konohagakure to explore the differences in our worlds. Do not make fools of us," Sōtaichō slammed his staff into the ground.

"Hai."  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"We're still a few miles away from the village," I told my escortees as we slipped through the crack in the worlds. "It up to you all to decide whether we walk or run."

"We should not stall; we are late already," Kuchiki Byakuya put in.

"All right, I can concur with that," I rolled my eyes over to Kyōraku. He smiled shamelessly. "Shall we go then?"

Kiyone, Ukitake's chosen 'fuku-taicho,' out a hand on my shoulder and nodded.

A faint spark. My neck twitched, but otherwise I made no move.

I flipped up into the trees and waited. I looked down to them and they vanished. They reappeared on the tree branch next to mine and I nodded, understanding my lead.

I concentrated on the badly concealed chakra and went to him, where he was hiding in the bushes closer to the ground. I wrapped an arm around his neck. "What do you want," I growled in his ear.

"I'm… just a ban… dit."

"Are you alone?"

"…Yes," he stared me in the eye, lying through his teeth. I knew he was in a pair, I just wanted to know whether someone would miss him. I leaned forward, over the man's shoulder. "What are you doing?" he whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh get over yourself. I'm happily married_,_ thank you very much," I grunted as I lifted my legs to kick the man trying to quietly tackle me from behind. He curled around my ankles with the whiplash.

"NOW YOU'RE MINE," a third man with a cutlass in his hand jumped at me from my side.

"Shit!" I managed to say. With my legs and arms occupied and my center of balance completely off, I closed my eyes for impact. A loud clang reached my ears. When I opened my eyes again, Nanao was pointing her katana at the man's throat and Renji's was at his back, while Kiyone's tacked his left foot to the ground. "Thanks."

"No problem," Nanao smiled and Renji knocked the bandit out. Kiyone took out the other one under my feet and I used my previous hold to do the same to the one in my headlock.

"Let's keep going, shall we?" I brushed myself off. "Naruto-sama is waiting."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**R&R! thanks very much!**


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: hey guys! im super duper sorry about not updating sooner. i offer this 8,000-word chapter in hopes that you would forgive me. thanks for all your support! this story is really fun to write (even if it sucks). dont forget to review (because i need help because it sucks). lol, love you all! xoxo, Lala

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"Welcome," Naruto smiled. "I'm glad you all made it all right."

"Hey, Naruto, I figure you should talk to them alone. I'm going to see Hinata, okay?"

"Fine. Come back later," Naruto sighed.

"M'kay. Later!" I did a little wave at the whole room and did a short-distance transport.

The hospital had gotten much more efficient since Sakura became its head. She organized everyone and had a commanding tone. Of course, those of us that knew her well knew that she had her soft spots. Hinata was one of them.

"Hyuga Hinata?" I asked the front desk.

"Room 112. Down the hall, on your left, then around the corner. Please sign this sheet and take a badge," the nurse manning the station said. I nodded and signed my name on the list and grabbed a visitor's badge while I walked.

"I'm coming in," I said as I did so. Hinata was propped against the headboard of the bed, holding a tiny bundle in her arms. She smiled as she saw me.

"Hi, Sora."

"Hi, yourself," I smiled back. "Let me see," I coaxed the baby out of her embrace and tucked him into mine. My eyes softened at his Byakugan and yellow-blonde hair. He was wide-awake, making tiny squeaking sounds at me. "He's gorgeous."

"Thanks," Hinata blushed with pride. "He looks a lot like Naruto-kun."

"He has Naruto's mouth and hair, but he looks exactly like you, Hinata," I stroked the infant's face.

She blushed some more. "Y-you think so?"

"I do."

"So how was your mission?" she asked as I gave her child back to her.

"It was nice, actually. You don't get a lot of pleasant ANBU missions but this really was," I sat on the stool next to her bed. "So why are you still here? I've been gone for two weeks, and you gave birth days before that."

"Oh, didn't Naruto tell you?" the white-eyed heiress asked. "This little one wouldn't come, so I had to get a C-section. I should be going home soon though," her fragile smile glowed.

"Hm. Did Neji know?" I asked carefully.

"Yes," she tilted her head at me.

"He's in trouble…" I grumbled. "So did Sakura perform the surgery?"

"She supervised. She said the next generation needs to learn, and they were qualified to do it," she shrugged. "I didn't mind. I thought it was appropriate for the first son of the Hokage. Especially since it's Naruto-kun."

"Of course," I cupped my hand around the tiny baby's head. "Oh, I should go back soon. Naruto is meeting with some visitors."

"The Shinigami are here?" I glanced up.

"You knew they were coming?"

If Hinata were capable, she would have rolled her eyes. "Naruto-kun told me."

"Of course he did. Well to answer your question, yes. Three captains and their vice-captains are here in Konoha. I'm sure you'll meet them sooner than later," I sighed. "All right, I have to go. Let me know when you're back at home okay?" I kissed the baby's forehead and waved goodbye as I left.

"O-kay!" I stretched. "Time to find Iz."  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"So~ny!" I skipped up to the woman's house.

"I can't go right now guys," she sighed to Izumi and me.

"Oh, c'mon," I grabbed her hand and pouted like a child. "You can spend—what? One hour?—with us!"

"Am I _capable _of getting out of this?"

"No," Izumi pulled out a few slips of paper and we widened our eyes with the well-known fact that she would blow us to smithereens.

"Okay," Sunai squeaked.

At a new café called 'Honooki', we ordered the only items on the menu: spicy food.

"Iz, we could've gone to Ichiraku's," I whined. "You know I hate spicy food…"

"Get something cinnamon then," Izumi's mouth watered, probably at the thought of an almost-perfect dragon roll.

"Fine," I crossed my arms.

Izumi ordered said dragon roll, Sunai ordered normal short ribs with house sauce, and I ordered a measly cinnamon-infused tea. As we waited, I felt the presence of two familiar chakras—reiatsu, I corrected myself—heading toward us. I dropped my forehead to the table.

"Oh man."

"Welcome!" the hostess greeted. I knew she took their haoris and they sat down at the table next to ours.

"Oh, Sora!" Kyōraku feigned surprise. "How coincidental to meet you here!"

"Kyōraku-taicho, it's not convincing with Ukitake-taicho making the face he is," I pointed irately.

"Okay, fine, we followed your reiatsu. But how else do we know where to go?" the man chuckled.

"Did Konohamaru not help?"

"He led us to our apartments, but that's all," Ukitake smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, well we can take you. Right, Iz, Sony?" I turned to my friends, who were paused in the middle of eating. Iz had bread and seasoned paste hanging out her mouth, and Sony had missed the bowl of dipping sauce and now had a rib pinned against the table with chopsticks. "Oh, yeah…"

"Sora, who are these guys?" Izumi asked after cleaning off her face.

"Sorry. This is Kyōraku Shunsui-taicho, and Ukitake Juushiro-taicho. Taichos, this is Kyuuma Sunai and Kumouri Izumi; my best friends and ex-teammates."

"Nice to meet you," Sunai nodded. Izumi seemed content with my introduction and continued eating.

"Oh, these are your friends?" Kyōraku looked them over. My eyes narrowed.

"Taicho, with all due respect, if you do anything inappropriate to my friends, I will obliterate you." Ukitake's mouth hung open. Kyōraku stared for a moment, and then all four of my friends started laughing at me. I pouted, cheeks red with embarrassment. "Stop it," I grumbled.

"_There_ you are," a new voice entered. I turned to see Shikamaru, carrying a baby and holding the hand of a little girl.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I forgot to tell you I was taking off," Sunai turned a little red. "Sora got back today, so I guess we got caught up."

"Troublesome. It's fine I guess," the lazy Nara sighed. He was beginning to look more like his dad as he got older; lines near his nose becoming prominent. Sasuke was having the same experience, and every once in a while, people accidentally called him Itachi, and then regretted it immediately.

"I'm glad you think so. Sora, I hate to say it but you'll have to do the tour alone with Izumi. Have fun," she put down money for her food and waved good-bye.

"Alone with Izumi?" the pyrotechnic pondered. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, nothing," I patted her head. "Do you guys want any food, or do you want to tour now?"

"Food sounds good," Kyōraku shrugged as they joined our table. "I'll trade you kan for ryo."

"Sure. You guys can order first," I smiled.

After eating, Izumi and I traded our money out (after a lot of explaining to Izumi about kan and ryo translation) and paid for their meal. We exited the restaurant and headed closer to main street.

"Most of the food places are on this end, because of tourists and such. After that, most of the buildings are hotels and shops," I told them. "Where are you guys staying?"

Ukitake answered. "I believe it's called Toad Sage Inn."

"You're at Jiraiya?" Izumi asked. "Weird. For all the guests in Konoha, only really esteemed ones stay there."

"'Jiraiya'?" the white-haired captain prompted and explaination.

"A long time ago, Naruto's master was a legendary ninja from Konoha. His name was Jiraiya and he was a toad sage. Remember I told you about Tsunade?" I asked the two captains. They nodded. "She was Jiraiya's teammate."

"Didn't you say most teams have four?" Ukitake recalled. "And they start out with a teacher."

"The Third Hokage was their sensei. And we don't like to mention the last teammate," Izumi put in when I didn't reply.

"Anyway, I wanted to know where you were staying so I knew where to find Kuchiki-taicho. I have to go to the Hyuga estate tomorrow," I grumbled. "Yipee."

"Oh, look!" Izumi pointed to her favorite shop.

"Haven't you had your Mako's dose already?" I hoped.

"Not yet! I just got back from Suna this week, and they don't have one there!"

I groaned. Mako's was a weapons shop near the center of town. The entire outside was brightly colored and painted with scythes and maces and swords. Izumi was obsessed with the place. She said it 'sparkles with positive energy and sells good weapons, too.'

"Well she's definitely going in. Do you want to come with?" I turned to the captains.

"If it's a weapons shop, shouldn't you get a new katana?" Kyōraku suggested. "Yours broke when you fought Zaraki, right?"

"Oh yeah…" I hung my head. "Okay fine. I'll go…"

I trudged inside the store, waiting for the intensity of the store to hit me.

The shop had always carried a sort of flowery scent, like strong perfume, mixed with the smell of iron. All alone it wouldn't bother me, but it was so strong that whenever Kiba entered it, he had to plug his nose and blink every few seconds. I liked the weapons, but the colors and the smell were too much.

"Okay, Mako," I turned to the clerk. "I need to special order a katana."

"Standard issue ANBU?"

"I said _special order_, didn't I?" I sniffled. "No, I wield a full-length katana with a guard."

"All right. Two hands or one?"

"Two."

"How tall are you?"

"About five foot seven."

"Do you have a particular design for the guard in mind?" the shopkeeper looked up from his order form.

"Actually," I removed my broken sword and slid off the guard, "can you attach this one?"

The sliver guard wasn't particularly special. It was circular and polished and the only unique thing about it was the Hyuga-Sukai clan symbol carved into it.

"Anything special about this guard?" Mako studied it.

"Not really. It has sentimental value," I replied, well aware of the two captains gazing over my shoulder. Mako eyed them carefully, then nodded with understanding.

"I will do my best. Anything else for you?" the merchant signed the order slip.

"Nope."

"Is this correct?" he showed the paper to me. I looked it over and nodded, and the man slid it into a clip above the doorway to what I knew to be his smithy.

"Izumi," I called into the general store, ignoring the looks I got.

"Over here," she called back.

"Oh man. She found the special order kunai. C'mon," I moaned to the captains. They bobbed their heads mutely, or maybe they were out of air in this place, and followed me into a darker corner.

"Look Sora! This one was made to cut through the third Kazekage's iron sand!" she held up a knife with diamond embellishments on the blade.

"Yes, Izumi. C'mon, I'm taking you home. You and Gaara are visiting, right?" I took the blade away and put it back on the shelf, trying to coax Iz away from it.

"He's not coming for another few days."

"Joy," I grumbled sarcastically. "Either way, you have places to be. Have you talked to Mei-sensei yet?"

"No…" she sighed, reluctantly leaving the store.

"Okay. We'll go visit her together once we finish the tour, okay?"

"Okay…"  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL STUDENTS!" Gai just _happened _to be with Mei when we came around her house. "HOW ARE YOU THIS FINE DAY‽"

"Oh hi, Gai-sensei…" Izumi backed away as I greeted the 'handsome green beast.'

"Sora and Izumi! It's been too long!" Mei popped around Gai from her kitchen. "And guests!"

"Hey, Mei-sensei! Yeah, they're friends," I chuckled and enter the house. I slipped on some slippers and went in casually. Izumi did the same and the two captains awkwardly followed suit.

"My name is Yagamata Mei. This is Maito Gai," Mei bowed. "And you are?"

"Ukitake Juushiro and Kyōraku Shunsui, Yagamata-san. It is a pleasure to meet you," Kyōraku kissed Mei's hand. I gagged a little bit.

"You as well," Mei stared. "Would you guys like some tea?"

"I'm fine," Izumi and I said together. I gave her a look and continued. "We already ate."

"Okay," Mei shrugged. "And… you two?"

"No thank you," Kyōraku said politely. "Juushiro?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay, then. Gai was just leaving so we can use the living room to catch up," Mei jabbed a thumb behind her at the couch. Gai nodded and kissed Mei's blushing cheek as swiftly left the house.

"Now, how about you tell me about yourselves? I know these two fools," we gestured vaguely at Iz and me. "But you guys are strangers."

"It's a very long story," Kyōraku chuckled. He took off his hat and sat with us. "I don't even remember most of it."

"Me either," Ukitake smiled. "We've lived a very long time." I bit my lip, trying to decide whether we should tell Izumi and Mei about the Shinigami.

On one hand if we told them, we would be able to teach them about our world without issue. On the other hand, we could cause an accidental riot if the information was spread too quickly. …What was I thinking? These two were smart, smarter than me even, and I trusted them to boot. Why would I think they would _purposefully _cause a riot?

"Mei-sensei, Izumi, this is going to sound weird to you. Ukitake-taicho and Kyōraku-taicho are from, well basically another universe. We seem to have a few similarities but we're very different. Anyway, Naruto is trying to form an alliance, but it will take time and effort. I spent the past two weeks or so in their world, Soul Society, learning their cultures."

"Why didn't they just bring someone back and have the Yamanakas work with them?" Izumi wondered.

"A decent thought, but that seems a bit hostile to me," I chuckled. "Even if Ibiki retired."

"I agree, Sora. The problem is that we only have one account of Soul Society and they have… how many?"

"…Six. But to be fair, others had scoped out Soul Society before me and Naruto himself went once. So really we have at least six as well."

"Scoped out?" Ukitake stared at me, asking a silent question.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath. "Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that. A team investigated before us. Sorry… but for the record, we wouldn't hurt anyone, and all we were doing was looking. I really am sorry for not telling you," I bowed as low as I could while sitting.

"Oh you're fine," Kyōraku waved me off.

"I was just curious. Anyway, we should be getting back, Sora-san. Of course, we don't know our way back," Ukitake reminded me.

"Oh, right. Sorry Mei, I'll come back later," I stood. "Izumi, you can stay here if you want."

"I will then. I'll see you."

"Later." As we left, I felt Kyōraku looking back. "Sorry, Kyōraku-taicho, but she's with Gai-sensei."

"Really?" Kyōraku whined. "And she was so beautiful, too…"

"You called her 'sensei.' Was she your…" Ukitake searched for the word, "Genin teacher?"

"Good!" I smiled. "Yeah, she was. Sunai and Izumi were my teammates. We went through some crazy stuff back then. Especially for genin."

"Like what?" Kyōraku asked.

"Well, let's see… there was our first chuunin exams. It was cut off toward the end because another Jinchuuriki attacked us for a rogue ninja named Orochimaru. Then there was the bit with Sasuke abandoning the village…" I looked down. That was still one of my darkest memories of Neji and near-death. I shook my head. "And there was once when I used my kekkei genkai for the first time in battle. I almost died."

"This village is always in such a crisis?" Ukitake asked.

"It's not really a crisis anymore. The job of a shinobi of Konoha is to protect civilians and our loved ones. Nothing more, nothing less," I smiled. "That's all we do."

"And ninja die every day to do it?"

"Isn't that how you guys work too?" I asked, confused. Society was like that. The rich get richer, the poor are protected, and shinobi do the protecting. Right?

"Not exactly, no…" Ukitake looked perplexed. "Are you saying that if you die protecting someone, you have fulfilled you duty and can die with honor?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean, we have personal goals and all that, but it's mostly about protecting people. Wait, so if you guys aren't like that, then how does all that work?"

"Well, we—" Ukitake was cut off with the appearance of Renji.

"Ukitake-taicho, Kyōraku-taicho," he started, "Kuchiki-taicho sent me to tell you about an order we just received."

"Squad six?" Ukitake asked.

"Yes, sir. We were given three more days, but then we have been commanded to return to Soul Society."

"Wait how are you receiving orders?" I gasped. They had left that minor detail out.

"Soul phone," Renji held up a little silver device the size of a small wallet, and dismissed me. "There have been disruptions with rebel factions that squad six is in charge of. The leader was one of our own."

"I understand," Kyōraku nodded. "Three days." He turned to me, eyeing my awed gaze at the 'soul phone.' "Um, Sora-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"What is it," I pointed at the device.

"You've never seen human cell phones?" Renji asked.

"The heck is that?"

"A telephone?"

"What?"

"You've never seen a telephone," he deadpanned.

"THE HELL IS A TELEPHONE‽"

"It's a communication device. Instead of radios, this allows wireless communication without a wavelength," Ukitake held up a blue version of Renji's phone.

"Cool…"

"Seems our technologies are different."

"Well yeah, but we have different versions of communications. There's a clan, the Yamanakas, that have telepathic communication, and we just use radios otherwise," I explained with a shrug. "Besides, I bet those are easily trackable."

Renji smiled. "You're right about that much."

"See?" I grinned smugly. "Anyway, if I have three days, then I better find out when the nobles are available. I think Hiashi-sama is coming around tomorrow…" I trailed off, but caught myself. "I don't know when Sasuke's coming back, though. I'll ask Sakura."

"Sakura?" Ukitake eyed Kyōraku and Renji, an inside joke playing their faces.

"Um, yeah. Sakura like the tree. Pink hair, big-shot medic. The friend I was telling you and Unohana-taicho about earlier," I nodded to Ukitake.

"I see."

"She's Sasuke's wife, so I'll check with her. Other than that, I'll send a message with the time tomorrow for Kuchiki-taicho," I finished.

"Sounds good. I'll let him know," Renji shunpo'd away.

"And I'll take you guys to the academy after that," I told the other two captains.

"Sounds fine to us," Kyōraku shrugged.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Ugh, I hate this," I groaned as Neji helped me tie my obi.

"I know. And you know Hinata tried," he said quietly back, focused on the knot he was tying.

"Yeah, I know. It's just annoying. So, what did you guys do for Miharu's birthday," I successfully kept the sadness out of my voice.

"Ayumu and I bought her a new yukata," he finished tying the obi sash and I turned around and kissed his lips briefly. "I think he's trying to help her now."

"Oh God. C'mon." As I'd feared, Ayumu was trying to tie the thin sash around Miharu's waist and was failing miserably. "Ayumu, let me do that. Go with your father, okay?" I chuckled. He shuffled away to Neji in the doorway, who took him to the bathroom to comb his hair out.

"Okay, Aiji. Let's check this," I sat in my knees in front of her. "Oh, dear." She had folded her lapels wrong. The right goes over left, unless the subject is dead. "See, it goes that way."

"Okay Mama," she replied quietly. I had put her hair up when I put up mine, using a silver feather pin I had used long ago. She brushed a couple stray hairs away and tucked them behind her ear nervously. "Mama, do I look pretty?"

"You look beautiful, baby girl," I assured her.

"Am I cute, though?"

"Adorable. Why? What happened?" I furrowed my brow.

"Well, some boys at school were saying that my eyes looked weird. They said I wasn't cute," she looked away.

"Aiji, your eyes are the most special ones out of the Hyugas. I first started loving your daddy because his eyes were so beautiful," I admitted. "Part of being beautiful is knowing that you're beautiful."

"Okay, Mama," her smile was much softer now. "Let's go show Papa!"

"Okay," I smiled. She ran after the boys with genuine happiness on her face.

"Papa, am I pretty?" she twirled as I was looking into the bathroom. I leaned against the doorframe.

"Haru-nee, you look like a princess," Ayumu gawked. Miharu turned a light shade of scarlet at the compliment. She really did look magnificent, too. Her yukata was a pleasant light bluish-green, bringing out the faint green in her eyes. It was decorated with cherry blossom petals and leaves, floating up to her neckline. Her sash was a darker green, but not quite emerald. The red on her face contrasted nicely and I couldn't help it: I released a sigh at how truly gorgeous she was.

"You're right about that," Neji crouched and smiled a little at Miharu. He planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Now go put some slippers on."

"Okay."

"Ayumu, your turn," I smiled a little menacingly at the two year old.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

As soon as someone knocked on the door I started getting nervous. Although I knew it was Kuchiki Byakuya, I feared for how he might react to Hiashi. Hiashi wasn't the clan Head anymore, but Hinata wasn't exactly pushy, and he took advantage of that weakness. Hanabi had been reluctantly moved to the branch families, and after she was gone, there was no one standing in his way.

Basically, one almost dictatorial man plus one captain as noble as all the Hyugas mashed together equals unpleasant.

I opened the door, though, with a smile on my face. My heart was thumping hard as Neji looked him up and down from behind me. Kuchiki kept a solemn face, but definitely noticed my jitteriness. He bowed a little to me and bowed the same to Neji. I welcomed him inside and offered him tea in the sitting room. He accepted it graciously and politely asked if he was early.

"Actually, I gave you a time early so that you would be here when they entered," I replied apologetically. "You must understand, they aren't exactly fans of us. And he doesn't know much about the Shinigami," I rambled, but shut myself up.

"I understand," was all he said.

I felt a little weight lift off my shoulders. "This is my husband, Hyuga Neji."

"Nice to meet you," Neji bowed a little, apparently deeming Byakuya a decent person.

"You as well," the captain almost seemed to _smile_. I forced myself not to do a double take. A few moments of small talk later, someone was at the door again.

"We'll be right back," I breathed. Neji and I stood and exchanged a brief look before going to the door. I opened it and stood aside while three people entered.

Hiashi, of course, strode in first with a smug look on his face. Hinata entered second, looking down but smiling at me a little. Hanabi entered then, carrying Hinata's baby in her arms. I smiled at her, and she nodded silently back. I closed the door as Neji offered them the seats in the sitting room. I missed the conversation there while I poured tea in the kitchen. As I entered again, I had to debate internally whether or not there actually _had been _a conversation. Between the four of them, they might not talk at all. I set the tea quietly on the table and sat with the tray on my lap.

"We are here for three reasons," Hiashi began. I noticed I was tense and uncomfortable, but I wasn't about to change that. "The first is to welcome the Shinigami and to hear what we can about their presence in Konoha," Hiashi nodded to Kuchiki. "The second is the legitimacy of Sukai Sora, and her children," he looked to me, speaking a little quieter.

My eyes widened in surprise, my gaze flickering to Neji and Byakuya, who looked faintly stunned, in panic. Then my eyes pointed into a glare as I took in the last statement. He did _not _just suggest marking my child. "Hiashi-_sama_," I spit the honorific, "I believe those are private matters and can be discussed at a different time," I replied acidly through gritted teeth.

Hiashi opened his mouth but to my astonishment, Hinata silenced him with a look. "We understand," she told me. Hanabi smirked in the corner of the room. "So, our foreign guest, would you introduce yourself to us, please?"

"My name is Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the 6th squad in a world called Soul Society. Doubly, I am the Head of the Kuchiki clan, one of four noble clans in Soul Society. Soul Society is much like yours, with very minor differences in application," the captain spoke; probably the most ever since I'd met him.

"And what application is that?" Neji asked. I prevented myself from kicking his leg.

"You seem to fight other shinobi, because of a lack of common enemy. Shinigami fight entities called Hollows, and therefore rarely fight against each other," Kuchiki explained.

"I see," Hiashi smiled. "Naruto-sama told me that you had a specific purpose in talking with us?"

"Yes. I was told to gain your agreement to an alliance between our worlds," Kuchiki told him directly, and it might have been my imagination, but the corners of his mouth turned down just a little. "Do we have your consent?"

"Presently," he affirmed a little bluntly. "The future will remain unwritten."

Soon after, Kuchiki was leaving. He no longer had a purpose in being there, so he decided to make his exit. "The four of you clearly have things to discuss. I will return to my fuku-taicho and await a second meeting."

"Thank you, Taicho. I very much appreciate you coming," I bowed, my obi digging a little into my ribs. He started walking, his haori billowing behind him and his long hair flying in the wind.

"It is my duty to make these arrangements, however unpleasant the company may be," he replied. I was left wondering who he meant; Hiashi or Neji?  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Sorry, there are a lot of roads leading to the academy," I apologized after a moment of silent thought on which to take. "We'll go this way," I pointed toward a path.

I had realized a little late that Byakuya had seen me at my most vulnerable: in formal dress. As soon as he had left I had noticed, and I tried to compensate today by wearing my typical shinobi outfit (the blue top, black shorts and dark grey skirt) with the thick armor made for my forearms. I had slipped on my boots as a final thought, covering as much as I could of my more… feminine parts. It was different enough that when I arrived, the captains had looked me over like I was some kind of weird specimen they'd never seen before.

I shook the awkward memory from my head. "So I'm going to show you a few things. I'll show you a class, some testing, and I'll introduce you to a teacher. There are…" I counted in my head, "Four subjects, if I remember right. Which one would you like to see?"

"It doesn't matter," Kyōraku waved dismissively. "Whichever we encounter first."

"Okay," I replied. "Do you guys have questions? I've been talking a lot since you guys have been here."

"I did have one," Kiyone raised her hand when none of the captains did. "The citizens and ninja are very intermingled," she commented. "I was wondering, sort of, _how _that all that works."

"Well of course we're intermixed," I smiled. "We're all friends and some are family. Not to mention that the job of a ninja is to protect the villagers with our lives and honor."

"Protect?"

"Yeah. I mean, we have personal goals and all that; like becoming Hokage or to support our families. But first and foremost, we protect the future of this village," I told them firmly.

"What about politics, then? Who makes the big decisions other than the Hokage?" asked Nanao.

"Well, Naruto has three counselors. That's Uchiha Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hatake Kakashi. They sort of tell him whether his ideas are stupid. And if it's a _major _decision, he had to confer with the nobles: the Uchiha, the Hyuga, the Aburame, the Nara, the Yamanaka, and the Akimichi clans. Once they all agree unanimously, things get done," I sighed. "Naturally, that's hard to do."

"That many?" Renji asked, clearly the best educated about nobles aside from Kuchiki.

"Well, it's mainly just the Hyugas and the Uchihas that have arguments. The Aburames are pretty quiet and keep to themselves, and the other three are allied together and they're all pacifists," I amended. "The last four are fairly easy votes."

"I see," Kiyone nodded, her question mostly answered.

"It seems most knowledge is passed through word of mouth," Ukitake commented.

"Yeah, kinda. We have a pretty strong legacy. Of course, that also means things can be done in secret pretty effectively," I looked away.

"Meaning?" Kyōraku was the one to ask the painfully obvious question.

I sighed, supposing I set myself up. "It's kind of a touchy subject for the village; the Uchihas in particular," I started. "There was a man named Uchiha Itachi, the older brother to the current Uchiha head, who grew up as the clan's pride; he awakened his clan abilities at possibly the youngest age ever, and was at the rank of my superior at age thirteen. Basically, everyone was proud of him. His brother in particular," I rubbed my temples, remembering the Hell we'd gone through with Sasuke: all the deaths, injuries, and stress we'd experienced as a generation. "Then without warning, Itachi slaughtered his entire clan in one night."

"An entire clan?" Ukitake's eyebrows shot up.

"Just him?" Kyōraku asked, just as shocked.

"Yeah. Everyone except Sasuke, his little brother. Sasuke ended up hating him and killing him in revenge. It was Hell, believe me. The war basically started because of Sasuke's drive to take revenge."

"The war against Akatsuki?" Renji confirmed.

I nodded. "That's the one. Of course, Naruto found out the truth and told us in private after the war died down."

"The truth?" Kiyone was leaning forward, tense.

"Itachi did it for sake of the village," I waited to see their shocked faces. I wasn't disappointed. "The Uchihas are a _powerful_ clan, and they were one of two clans that built Konoha in the beginning. They felt underappreciated, so they started planning a coup d'état. Itachi knew about it, but also had a responsibility to the village," I stopped walking. "He was given an order by the third Hokage's advisors."

"I think I know where this is going…" Nanao mumbled.

"The people in charge of protecting this village's people," I clenched my fists, slightly surprised at the remaining anger at the ex-advisors. I'd thought I was over it by now. "Ordered their slaughter. You can imagine how pissed we all were. And how sad Sasuke must have been when he found out. It was generally a bad thing for my generation to know."

"Wait, so this Uchiha Sasuke," Nanao adjusted her glasses, entering the conversation cautiously. "How did he kill this man? If he was powerful enough to wipe out an entire ninja clan…"

"You're right. Sasuke needed… extra training," I tried my best to sound conclusive. My mouth was running dry from talking so much, and this wasn't exactly a story the village preferred to tell. "Speaking of training, here we are."

Truthfully, we weren't close yet. The academy, rebuilt after the war and Pein's attack—it seemed like millennia ago—was a pleasant blue color, with about three floors and a bit larger than the one I called homeroom when I was a kid. Somehow, though, the tree with the swing hanging from it hadn't been touched. The ages-old plank strung up with thick rope was just as frail looking as always, and a little girl was swinging with what looked like her older sister on it happily. Classes were on recess or running laps outside, playing and laughing and running around.

"Let's make our way around them," I smiled, waving to my daughter across the courtyard. "Some of them are in class." We made our way up to the second floor, where the older kids would be in classes. I went straight to Chouji's classroom, knowing he wouldn't mind a few observers. "Hey Chouji!" I entered while his class was joking around.

"Hi, Sora. Something I can do for you?" his eyes flashed to my guests.

"Yeah. We were just going to sit in on a class for a little while. Observing only," I added.

"Sure, that's fine. That is, if you don't mind a boring lesson," he turned a little red and scratched a spot on his cheek.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. As long as it's relevant," I patted his arm and retracted to the doorway. "So we'll just observe for about ten minutes. Around this time of day is strategy…"

"Strategy!" Chouji called order to his students. "I've drawn a battlefield on the board," he pointed to a bunch of X's, O's, and blocks. I recognized it with a nostalgic chuckle. "Your team of four needs to return from a mission safely. One of you is injured, and another is carrying him. The other two are halfway out of chakra, and need to get around obstacles here, here, and here. An enemy is probably lurking around this block. This is your objective. Show me the safest and fastest way to get there," he started a timer of his podium. "Go."

"This reminds me of Shinō Academy," Renji rubbed his temples.

"I'm guessing our systems are similar," I nodded. " History, strategy, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and basic strength training. That's pretty much it once you get to about… eight years old."

Kiyone nodded back, then screwed her eyes. "Taijutsu and ninjutsu?"

"I think they're testing today, so it'll be explained," I assured. "Easiest explained by the students who have to recite it," I laughed quietly.

"Recite it?" Ukitake raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember?"

"Oh, c'mon. You think I remember textbook passages from year three?" I felt mirth bubbling in my chest.

"True enough."

"Sensei!" someone cut into our conversation. "I'm done!" I looked up to see a familiar face. Sarutobi Asuko was standing in the second row, her hand raised to Chouji. I remembered her from her birthday party some months ago. Shikamaru had invited us, saying that Asuma's daughter was turning eleven and she was being troublesome, so we had to come too. Naturally.

"Good job, Sarutobi-kun. Wait for the rest of the class, please," Chouji smiled at her. He'd been at the party too, being Shikamaru's best friend.

The next few minutes passed quickly, with a few other students standing and announcing that they were finished and sitting back down. I had already finished the problem, of course, and in hindsight I wished we'd done more of these.

"This is basic training?" Renji seemed to be racking his brain for the answer.

I covered a laugh. "Um, yeah. That's the idea."

"Okay!" Chouji gathered everyone again. "Since you got it first, Sarutobi-kun, what's the solution?"

"The best option would be to go around the first two obstacles completely. Even if it's a longer route, you avoid potential conflict so it's faster, and the final obstacle will be easier to overcome if the uninjured members haven't fought anyone," Asuko rose and gave her answer like she was reading it straight from a book.

"Good job," Chouji nodded and she sat. "Anyone else have a different answer?" No one raised their hands, so either everyone had reached exactly the same conclusion or they knew they were wrong.

"Get the jist?" I asked my tour group. A couple of them nodded, so I let them duck out and I waved to Chouji as I followed them out.

"So what next? We have taijutsu, ninjutsu, and testing," I put my hands on my hips.

When no one spoke up—or they just shrugged—Kiyone stepped forward. "What's taijutsu?"

"Hand-to-hand combat. There are some really advanced techniques taught by specialized teachers, but general martial arts are taught at the academy."

"Let's sit in on that for a while," Kyōraku shrugged.

"It shouldn't take long," I nodded. "It's really just punching and kicking."

"Still, we should check the curriculum and the like," Ukitake reasoned.

"Agreed. This way; c'mon." Naturally, Lee was teaching this particular class as a guest teacher. As Gai's student, it was pretty appropriate. I walked in and waved happily to the man. After becoming a jounin, Lee had decided to separate himself from Gai a little. His teacher was still his idol, but the green jumpsuit and orange legwarmers no longer were paired on Lee. Although for some reason, he kept the haircut. It was beyond me.

"Sora-chan! And guests!" he saluted briefly. I sighed.

"Hey Lee… meet the Shinigami. Shinigami, meet Rock Lee," I gestured vaguely.

"Nice to meet you. Shinigami?" Lee queried.

"Complicated," I waved off. "We can have a group get-together soon and I can explain it. Anyway," I continued, "we're sitting in on classes today."

"Well, it's taijutsu; why not participate?" he suggested energetically.

"Well, it's up to you," I told the captains. "I could use the training, so I will, but the rest is up to you." They looked at each other and finally, Kyōraku lifted his hat.

"We'll watch. We haven't seen you fight another shinobi," he pointed out.

"It's just taijutsu…" I replied sheepishly.

"Still," Renji said, "your style is different than ours, because ours involves swords. It's interesting."

"Okay," I put my hands up.

"We'll have my class watch as well," Lee told me. "They would use an example."

"Sure."

"Everyone!" Lee leapt to the front of the class, his form so much like Gai's that I winced. "I have a guest here, so you will watch us spar. Watch for the forms we've been working on!" I glanced around, seeing older kids: probably the graduating class. Some nodded in respectful greeting.

We went back to a field behind the academy, hoping not to damage anything. Lee promised not to use chakra-based taijutsu if I did the same, so I did. We sat back about a hundred yards away from each other, analyzing our surroundings on high alert. He launched first, a sweeping kick prepared.

I dodged easily, tucking my feet up against my body. I unfolded one and aimed a kick for his neck, but he blocked and twisted me downward. I let out a gasp and supported myself against the ground with my hands. I wound my other ankle around Lee's and shoved my trapped leg into his chest to throw him off balance. As he wavered, I unhooked my feet and spun my little handstand and kicked him a ways. Before he could recover, I charged him, wondering idly why he wasn't using his superior speed.

"C'mon Lee, be faster!"

"If you want it!" he disappeared. I felt a tiny poke of a metal knife against my back and lurched forward to avoid the end of the spar. I pulled a knife and flicked it at him. He threw his to nullify mine and we charged each other again, throwing punched and kicks that must have been hard to follow. Distracted, I allowed a right hook through and took one in the face. Before I could regain balance, Lee managed to flip me with his Konoha Hurricane and pressed his knee to my chest and a kunai to my neck, smiling wildly.

"And you even took it easy," I sighed. "Is it possible for someone like me to beat you?"

"You are better than most," Lee helped me up, still smiling. "Izumi is my most even match."

"Duh," I laughed. "Come on." I lead him back to the bigger group, which was wholly awed, Shinigami included.

"I believe that's the end of class," Lee told his students. "Practice with each other, and be back in two days." They left.

"That was amazing," Kiyone breathed.

"I'm glad you liked it," Lee smiled at her, their eyes locking. Kiyone blushed, and my eyebrows rose slightly.

"Lee is the best in my generation at taijutsu," I interrupted their moment. "With the best taijutsu teacher."

"Only because I can't do anything else," Lee chuckled. Really, he'd matured over the past few years, particularly after the end of the war. Everyone had changed after all that.

"What?" Kiyone asked.

"I'm not able to do ninjutsu or genjutsu. So I was trained specifically in taijutsu," Lee shrugged. I smiled.

"What?" Kiyone repeated.

"Let's see," I tried to think of something they could relate it to. "It would be like having great physical strength, but no zanpakuto. It's effective," I shrugged. "More effective than ninjutsu, sometimes."

"I see," Renji still looked confused, but I ignored him.

"Anyway, are you ready for ninjutsu?" I asked happily.

"Kakashi's teaching that today," Lee told me. I raised my eyebrows.

"Cool," I nodded. "Thanks Lee," I waved. I started walking with the Shinigami, but I decided to go back briefly. "Her name is Kotetsu Kiyone. The man with the white hair is her taicho," I told him quietly with a wink and waved good-bye.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Kaka-sensei," I smiled and hugged the white-haired man. "Where's your class?"

"All the classes just let out for lunch. Oh…" he noticed the Shinigami. "Hello."

"Shinigami, meet Hatake Kakashi."

"This is the man Kurosaki Ichigo spoke of?" Byakuya spoke up for probably the first time since yesterday.

"Right. Kakashi, this is Kyōraku Shunsui, Ukitake Juushiro, Kuchiki Byakuya, and their fuku-taichos," I gestured to them.

"It's nice to meet you," Kakashi bowed. "I was waiting for more Shinigami to show up."

"Kakashi, can you show ninjutsu? That's kind of what we were doing today," I laughed sheepishly.

"Let's get outside," he pointed a thumb to the door behind him.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Ninjutsu is born from your chakra, which is comprised of physical and spiritual energy. Each person's chakra has an affinity to a certain element," Kakashi explained. He backed up so he was standing on a small stream. He ran through hand signs and a dragon made of water rose up and crashed into the ground, soaking my clothes through. I glared maliciously at the silver-haired jounin, but I was completely ignored.

"So your affinity is to water?" Ukitake asked.

"I'm a bit different," Kakashi reasoned. He sighed and adjusted his hitai-ate so his right eye showed. "This is the Sharingan. I'm not an Uchiha, but I can use it to an extent."

"He says," I wrung water out of my shirt. "But in reality, he was almost the sixth Hokage because of that eye."

"What?" Renji gaped.

"I would've hated it. Anyway, this eye has copied over a thousand jutsu," Kakashi put his hands together again and blew a massive fireball in our opposite direction, but close enough to me that I was dried off. "That's the only thing that sets me apart."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please. Well anyway, once you get to jounin level, you can usually use two or three elements. Kakashi can use all of them easily, but us _normal _folk can use a couple."

"What can you use, Sukai-san?" Kiyone asked curiously.

"Wind is my natural affinity," I shrugged. "Other than that, I can use water and I have _very_ basic techniques using lightning."

"Is that right?" Kakashi asked.

"Clones, and I can infuse lightning chakra in punches. That's it," I laughed. "Nowhere _near _your level, sensei."

"What did you have planed next?" Kakashi asked the Shinigami.

"We haven't done testing," I spoke for them, seeing they didn't know.

"You're out of luck, then," Kakashi fixed his headband. "They finished testing yesterday."

"Really?" I asked. "Bummer. Sorry," I told the Shinigami.

"It's fine," Ukitake insisted. "I think we've gotten the picture."

"All right. Well, I think that's it, then," I sighed. I was trying to think of what I'd forgotten.

"Did you show them the mountain?" Kakashi hinted.

"No, not yet," I grinned. "I think we're done after that."

"Have fun," Kakashi pulled out his book and went off toward the town to eat.

"What's 'the mountain'?" Renji asked.

"Come on," I went toward the Hokage tower.

Once we reached the roof, I pointed to the Hokage monument. Little breaths of air escaped the Shinigami group as they saw the massive carvings of each Hokage.

"Who are they?" Nanao breathed.

"The Hokage from our past," I smiled. "From the left, it's Senju Hashirama, then… oh, now I can't remember his name… then the Sandaime, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and then Naruto's dad Namikaze Minato, then Senji Tsunade, then Uzumaki Naruto," I grinned. "That's every single person who led our village into golden ages. Every one of the Hokages brought a new aspect to Konohagakure no Sato. Our entire past is carved into that mountain."

"It's magnificent," Kiyone smiled.

"I'm glad you think so."  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"So I hate to say it, but I have to catch up on a _ton _of paperwork after two weeks," I apologized. "I can ask someone else to answer questions…"

"That's okay, Sora-san," Ukitake smiled. I noticed him clear his throat, the sound a little rough, but dismissed it. "We can get on on our own."

"I'm sure you can," I sighed. "The problem is that your cha—I mean reiatsu is too much for most of the villagers. I just don't know if…" I trailed off, not really knowing were that argument was going.

"It's fine," Renji insisted. "We've had a lot of practice with suppressing our power." I turned a little red, feeling like I bruised their pride a lot without meaning to.

"Sorry…" I muttered. I looked around while we walked, and a flash of pink hair was all I needed to think about something else. "Oh. One more person to meet, and I promise you guys can relax without my banter," I chuckled and ran off before Sakura could get away.

"Hi, Sora," Sakura smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks," I replied. "Sakura, remember that frined I asked you about?"

"With tuberculosis?" I nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well," I turned around to see the taichos coming toward me, "he's here," I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment.

"Okay…" she looked at me like I had turned purple.

"Who's this we're meeting, Sora?" Renji asked. I could tell he was trying not to yawn.

"Sorry for all the talking," I scratched harder. "Anyway, this is my friend Uchiha Sakura."

"Nice to meet you," Sakura bowed, still confused.

"Ukitake-taicho, this is the medic I was telling you and Unohana-taicho about," I told him.

"Sora-san has told me many good things about you, Uchiha-san," Ukitake bowed with minor surprise.

"I'm glad to hear that," Sakura laughed. "I'm sure she talked you all to death."

"Just a little," Renji commented off-handedly. I blanched and looked at my feet while the others laughed at me. Ukitake couldn't have picked a better time to have a fit.

If that doesn't sound too horrible.

"Ukitake-san!" Sakura was alarmed and immediately started her green medical jutsu to assess his situation. "This isn't good," she told me. I knelt next to her and comfirmed her statement.

Ukitake was suffocating and his heart wouldn't last much longer.

"Can you guys get him to the hospital?" I turned specifically to Kyōraku. "You're faster than us."

"I can," Kyōraku's eyes were wide. My heart tugged at me, remembering the feeling. Kyōraku instantly wrapped Ukitake's arm around his shoulder and was gone in a flash.

"Sakura, let's go," I told her and I looked at the remaining officers, and we made a silent agreement to meet up later.

I sprinted to the hospital. It wasn't far, and I ran without chakra so I could preserve some. It was harder, but I got there. I burst into the emergency room and the nurses pointed me silently to the operation room where Ukitake had been taken. I entered, seeing assistants preparing poison removal solution in massive quantities. Sakura was at the back of the room, putting some food pills in her pocket for use during surgery. She sighed.

"Something wrong?" I asked her, washing my hands and putting pills in my pocket too.

"Sasuke's not back yet," she groaned.

"Is he supposed to be?"

"Yes," she looked down.

"I seriously think he's fine. He's just out with his team, right?"

"Yeah, but think about _our _genin missions," she gave me a very valid point.

"Naruto's smarter than to give risky missions like that. Hey, there he is," I dried my hands and slipped my long bangs into my bun messily. I hurried to where the assistants were rolling in a bed with Ukitake panting on it. Sakura shook her head, probably trying to clear her thoughts, and stood across from me.

"Here we go," we took a deep breath together and began the procedure.

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THANKS FOR READING! dont forget to review!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: hey! so this chapter isn't nearly as long, but i hope you like it. i put some fluff at the end, but it sucks. sorry.**

**i appreciate all the new followers and im excited to write for everyone! if you like this, you should check out 'Frosted Wings.'**** it's Sora's story before she and Neji were even together.**

**thanks! xoxo, Lala**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Start removing blood this round," Sakura instructed me. I nodded and reached my solution-covered hand into the little pools of blood resting in Ukitake's lung. I tugged out some of it, along with the thick white virus that lined the flesh cavity.

Almost five bowls each of solution later, we were finished removing the virus and the blood in Ukitake's lungs. We let ourselves collapse into the floor, exhausted, and rested a minute before Sakura stood up again. Wordlessly and panting hard, she ran a steady and over Ukitake's chest and I was shocked to realize that she was curing the tuberculosis completely. My eyes were wide. How did she do that?

"Now, I think he'll be okay…" her thoroughly drained body fainted and she was caught by the assistants. I went to her and took her from them, commanding them to take Ukitake to a room to recover. I lay Sakura on the cot in the corner used for these situations, and wiped sweat from my forehead. I had to let the Shinigami know what was going on. I went for the door to the outside hall.

"He's stable," I tried to control my breathing. "We've removed every bit of the virus, so he's going to be fine. He's resting at the moment, and I can find the room number if you want."

"'Removed the virus?'" Kyōraku asked.

"A solution Sakura came up with. It can literally purge the body of poisons and cell-sized substances. It's pretty miraculous, really," I complimented her. "But whatever. Do you guys want to go see him? The anesthesia will wear off in an hour or so."

"I will, Sukai-san," Kiyone raised a tentative hand from the back of the group. I smiled and nodded; I'd already guessed she would say that. I led her to the front desk and took a clipboard from it.

"Room 214," I told her. "Second floor."

"Thank you," she bowed and ran off around the corner. As I went back, I noticed Kyōraku's hesitance to go visit his friend.

"Go ahead, Kyōraku-taicho. I'm sure Kiyone-fuku-taicho's nervous as it is," I sat against the wall, still drained. "Room 214, second floor."

Kyōraku stood and tipped his hat to me as he left.

"Are you okay, Sukai-san?" Nanao asked me worriedly.

"I'm fine," I chuckled. "I'll get some food after this. Anyway," I took a deep breath to stabilize myself, "Ukitake-taicho will only take a day or so to recover, considering his body is used to being sick. I'm pretty sure Sakura boosted his antibodies so that they would attack whatever started the virus in the first place, and that should be gone within a week."

"Amazing," Renji said quietly. "How did Unohana-taicho not do this already?" He winced at his captain's piercingly disapproving gaze.

"Unohana-taicho definitely has the power and control over reiatsu to do the procedure, and I'm sure she could figure out the formula herself too," I began. "However, reiatsu as I've noticed isn't as…" I searched for the word, "_sticky_ as chakra. It flows better; it's not as easily blocked off. I can stick myself to a tree with chakra; I can stick fluid to my fingertips with the right amount of concentration. If I had reiatsu, doing that would be a challenge."

"I see," Nanao nodded knowingly. "Although I'm not sure chakra could be 'blocked off' like you said."

"Oh believe me, it can be," I replied darkly. "And it is not pleasant."

No one had anything to say to that. I almost fell asleep right there when something slid under my arm. I reacted instinctually, flicking my right hand toward his face. Renji stopped me with his other hand and looked at me with a nervous grin.

"Sorry; thought you were asleep," he released my hand. I shook my head.

"It's okay. I'm fine. I have to go get Sakura, anyway," I moved away from him and stood up. "You guys can either go to Ukitake-taicho's room, or go home. I'm done lecturing you guys," I smiled half-heartedly and yawned, entering the OR again. "Okay, Sakura. Up," I grabbed her arm and pulled. She slowly woke up and stared at me drowsily. "Come on, you're pregnant. You need food."

"…Hai…" she yawned. As we left the OR, I noticed Renji still outside the room.

"Something wrong Renji?" I asked, Sakura's arm around my shoulder.

"Well, Kuchiki-taicho complained to me yesterday about someone at your meeting…" he started but I cut him off with a look of confusion. "What?"

"He… _complained_?" I raised an eyebrow.

"In his own way, yeah," Renji chuckled. "Anyway, he said that this guy had tried to bring up something pretty personal while he was there. He said you shook him off, but I wanted to see if you were all right," he honestly looked concerned.

I shook my head. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. I've been dealing with Hiashi-sama's dislike of me since I was two; I know him. Please tell Kuchiki-taicho the same."

"Do you mind if I join you for food?" he asked, following me.

"Not at all," I shrugged. "It's probably just going to be us wolfing down food, though."

"That's fine," he laughed. We made our way to the hospital café, where I paid for two coffees, and two sandwiches. Renji insisted he wasn't hungry.

"Sakura," I sighed. "Wake up." The pinkette wouldn't wake, until I got the brilliant idea of waving her BLT under her nose, the smell of mayonnaise and bacon wafting upward.

"I'm awake," she slurred. She took the sandwich from me and slowly chewed a bite.

"So you guys can replenish energy just by eating food?" Renji finally asked.

"Yep. It's the physical part of chakra."

"I see. Wish I could do that," he sighed, probably tired.

"Renji, should you be here?" I asked, swallowing some of my sandwich.

"I don't know. But I should probably go back. We have to study something before we leave day after tomorrow," he stood with another sigh.

"Study?" I asked, taking nother bite.

"I don't have the authority to tell you," he looked apologetic. Inwardly, I groaned.

"Whatever. I'll let you know when something happens with Ukitake-taicho," I yawned.

"Thanks. Bye." And in a flash, he was gone.

"Your friends make me nervous," Sakura's sandwich was gone.

"Good. They're not to be underestimated."

"How much are they keeping from you?" she turned to me completely, color restored to her face.

"No clue. But I get the feeling it's a lot," I groaned out loud and suddenly my appetite was gone. I let my head fall on the table. "I like them. But they don't trust me."

"Sora, you are one of the few ninja I know that trust people until you have a reason _not _to trust them. I admire that about you, but it doesn't always end well," Sakura pulled her legs up onto the chair. "Be careful with them."

"Thanks," I sighed. I stood and went to the counter, asking for a box. I put my half-eaten sandwich in it and Sakura and I went up to Ukitake's room.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Any changes?" Sakura asked the two caretakers in Ukitake's room, all business.

"He coughed a little," Kiyone told us. "For a minute or so after I came in. He didn't wake up, so I wasn't sure what to do."

"Well, for one," Sakura put on her 'sweet nurse' smile and uncovered the nurse button behind Ukitake's pillow, "this button will alert us if something drastic happens that our machines don't pick up. Just press it and a nurse will come." Kiyone nodded. "More importantly, I'm positive that the coughing is just his body getting used to having full use of his lungs again. He's still taking shallow breaths, but he'll get accustomed to it."

"Thank you, Uchiha-san," Kyōraku had taken off his hat, and I noticed slight bags under his eyes.

"It's my job," Sakura smiled. "I'm just glad I could help."

"Any consciousness yet?" I asked him after a moment.

"He's stirred a little, but that's it," Kyōraku looked directly, intensely, into my eyes when he spoke. I found myself shivering a bit. I hadn't registered his powerful aura until then.

"He should wake up very soon," Sakura had picked up the clipboard at some point or another, and was signing the third or fourth page. "His vitals are normal. He should be back sooner than I thought."

"A few days perhaps," I smiled a half-smirk. "You guys need some sleep."

"I'm fine," Kiyone was betrayed by an involuntary yawn, and I looked pointedly at her. She finally took the hint and exited the room.

"I think I'll stay until he wakes up," Kyōraku told us. "I have nothing better to do."

"Unfortunately, I do," Sakura turned to me sympathetically. "I need to check in with Naruto."

"Go for it," I shooed her out. I took the swiveling doctor's chair and sat, still wobbly since I had barely eaten.

"For someone telling me _I _need sleep, you look tired," Kyōraku's joke would have been funny if I were more awake.

"That's my life," I shrugged. "I spend hours here when I'm off duty. Its not so bad in times of peace like now."

"What's war like here?" he asked suddenly. "War in Soul Society is full of despair and tension. But you seem to let everything roll off your shoulders."

I looked him in the eyes, and for the very first time, he looked as old as he was. All six hundred or so years showed in those glassy orbs that normally just seemed playful and deep. I felt my eyes soften, remembering the moment I had spent with Neji before the war began.

"It was terrifying. My friends and I were only sixteen, seventeen. We weren't prepared for a war. That is, everyone except Naruto," the guilt showed on my face. "Naruto's best friend had betrayed the village when we were twelve," I shook my head. "Naruto never stopped believing that he could bring him back, even when he almost killed their third teammate. Then that traitor joined with the Akatsuki, and everything fell apart. Naruto had to face the legendary fighters of these nations, and changed each and every one of them," I smiled, my eyes stinging. "We told him there wasn't a war, that he was training in seclusion. But he figured it out, and he went _after _the man that dared call himself our enemy and beat him." I grinned openly. "Naruto is a hero. He's the only reason any of us kept our sanity out there."

"I keep forgetting how powerful you are," Kyōraku told me point-blank. "Sometimes you're just an ordinary woman, and I forget how noble your lineage is, or that you could probably injure me right now." I stared at him. He stared right back. "You're strong, Sora-chan. You have been through a lot, and you still trust people much more easily than any of us can," I could see that, as Kyōraku spoke, he was hiding something. It was so obvious that it made me angry, knowing he was consciously keeping information from me, when I spilled my guts everywhere.

"Shunsui? Sukai-san?" Ukitake mumbled just loud enough for us to hear. We were up in a second, with me testing pulse and temperature, and Kyōraku just smiling.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"What have I missed?" Ukitake apparently noticed the tension in the room.

"Oh nothing. I was just telling Sora-chan about the plum blossoms in Soul Society," Kyōraku waved his friend, who totally knew something was up, off casually. I shooked my head and smiled.

"How are you feeling, Ukitake-taicho?"

"Weird," he said, rubbing his neck a little.

"I would assume so," I yawned. "You're still recovering, and you're not used to full breaths."

"Are you okay?" Kyōraku asked. In all honesty, I was started to get sluggish, and my vision was getting tunneled. I smiled wider, and took heavier breaths in an attempt at getting oxygen to my brain. I sat back down hastily.

"I'm fine."

"How can we help?" Ukitake's eyebrows were scrunched together in worry.

"Don't worry," I fished in my pocket for my remaining food pills. I had eaten a few during surgery, but I ignored that and popped one in. I felt better quickly.

"How many of those have you taken?" Sakura was magically back in the room.

"Uh…" I articulated guiltily.

"Go get some real food. You're no use to me in bad health," he hit me on top of my head.

"That wouldn't be a problem if you stopped hitting people," I mumbled a little too loudly.

"_What was that?_" she got uncomfortably close to my face.

"Nothing!" I yelped and booked it out of the room without a second glance.

Once I got home, I tiptoed inside. I slid off my shoes and went to the kitchen to steal some onigiri. That was the most filling thing to eat right then. As soon as I finished two or three, I quietly went upstairs to the master bedroom. I noted all the paperwork on my desk, but ignored it with a slowing mind. I slid into bed next to Neji and tried to fall asleep.

"Welcome back," his voiced purred behind me.

"Hey," I turned around and kissed him. "Sorry, an emergency came up."

"I figured. Shinigami?"

"Yeah. One is really sick. Was," I corrected myself. "Emergency surgery."

"I see," Neji sighed, his breath caressing my face. "Well the kids missed you at dinner."

"I'll make it up to you guys," I promised. I nuzzled my forehead into his bare chest comfortably. "Day after tomorrow. We'll go out."

"Sounds like a plan," Neji's arm fell over my waist and hugged me to him. His lips pressed against the top of my head and I turned so my cheek was against his chest instead.

"I love you," I sighed.

"You too."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: read and review (R&R)! i appreciate feedback of any sort, so you're free to flame if necessary!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: u mad bro?**

**nope, probably not, considering NONE OF YOU GUYS ARE FROSTED WINGS READERS.**

**basically, i've been updating this one like crazy while my main Naruto fiction is being hopelessly neglected. ANYWAY..**

**enjoy this chapter! please review at the end!**

**xoxo, Lala**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Neji, wake up," I yawned.

"What?"

"Kids," I pointed to where the yellow light from the hallway shone through the doorway, silhouetting Ayumu and Miharu, hands clasped together.

"Mama, Papa," Miharu yawned largely. "'Yumu had a nightmare."

"Did he?" I stood up to go get the little boy. I picked him up and took Miharu's hand. "You want to sleep with us?"

"Mhm," the girl nodded. Ayumu was shivering, a little sweat on his back. I held him a little closer. "Papa," Miharu jumped onto the bed and curled into Neji's stomach. I grinned at his surprised expression. I climbed into bed and turned over so Ayumu was next to his sister, and had no choice but to leave my finger where it was: the two-year-old was gripping it like a vice.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"What do you want for dinner?" I asked my daughter, holding her hand and keeping her in one spot. Her eyes were flashing all over the place, to the sounds, smells, and sights of the main street farmers' market. I sighed and offered her my back, and she climbed on.

"Dipping noodles!" she finally answered my question.

"Sounds good! We'll need oranges, and we're out of soy sauce," I searched for the right booth. "Oh, and the noodles."

"Right there, Mama!" Miharu pointed at the fried noodles stand and leaned just a little too far forward. I wobbled and my hand went up to support her.

"Calm down, Haru!" I snapped a little too harshly.

"Sorry Mama…"

"It's fine, just try not to fall over, okay?" I sighed.

"Hai, Mama."

"Hello!" the man running the noodle booth greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"We need two of the udon, please," I brought out my wallet.

"Please and thank you, please and thank you," Miharu was chanting.

"Have half price, for your daughter's manners!" the man laughed jubiously.

"Thank you very much," I grinned and bowed as much as I could with a fidgeting five-year-old on my back. "Miharu, thank him, please."

"Thank you, Oji-san!" my raven-haired girl giggled. I went to a produce stand and let her pick out four oranges, and found a decent bottle of soy sauce. I paid and we made our way back home with Miharu swinging the

"Mama, I'm thirsty," Miharu whined. I inwardly groaned; I knew where this was going.

"Wait until we get home," I told her.

"But I'm thirsty _now,_" she insisted.

"Wait, Aiji."

"Aww," she whimpered. Needless to say, I ended up carrying the oranges.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

As I let the kids go off to Ayumu's room to play, I grabbed dishes off the table. I ran the faucet with hot water in the sink and turned around while it filled.

"Neji, do you dislike the Shinigami?" I asked. I'd had the sneaking suspicion about it since he met Ichigo, but I never asked him about it.

"Aa," he admitted. "They're strong."

"It's their job to be. Besides, so are we," I shrugged.

"Yes, but they use for the wrong reasons," he sipped his cup of tea.

"Why do you like Kurosaki Ichigo more than the others, though?" I asked curiously, absently checking the sink.

"He told us that the reason he uses his powers is to protect his friends and family. That's more than the others."

"What?"

"Sora, as the ambassador on this mission, it will be your job to decide whether they deserve our trust and the lives of our shinobi. You need to think about how they use their powers, and if that reason is good enough," he stood up at a thump upstairs. He took a final sip of his tea and came over to me. Kissing my forehead, he said, "Everyone here trusts you as they should. It's them we're wary of." Then he went upstairs to check on our kids.

I started cleaning orangey paste out of little bowls, thinking about that. I was so deep in thought that I only cleaned one, slowly turning it in my fingers under the soothingly hot, soapy water.

"Yo," I was snapped back to reality to a voice coming from the window in front of me. I reeled back and, knowing that my weapons weren't on my hip, threw the bowl in my hand at the stranger.

Renji caught it and lifted an eyebrow to me. "Was that supposed to do something?"

I rolled my eyes. "What is it?" he handed back the bowl.

"We're leaving now. Yamamoto-Sōtaichō called the other two back, too."

"What? …Okay," I shrugged.

"Okay. We'll be in touch. Basically if you sense any reiatsu, don't attack them," Renji gave me a toothy smirk.

"Right. I'll see you, then!" I smiled back and gave him a careful hug, avoiding touching him with my sudsy hands. He vanished and I finished the dishes without further thought.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

The next week went by without trouble. Neji went on a small ANBU mission, leaving me with the kids for a few days. I managed to get through it, but each night regretted leaving my husband with them by himself for two weeks.

There was an exhibition night at the academy the day after Neji got back, and Miharu demanded that we attend so she could show us her flower arrangement, which was delicate; it was little bundles of lilac in a circle around white lilies and baby's breath in a little terracotta pot. I was elated to take it home and obliged when the girl passive-agressively demanded that I made it the centerpiece on the kitchen table. We also saw her impressive accuracy with throwing knives, and her grades were the best in her class. I had smirked and nudged Neji, telling him that she was like him. Ayumu and I made strawberry daifuku for her that night, and even though it was _messy_, Miharu ate every bite of her favorite sweet food.

At some point on Saturday night, when the kids were asleep, I felt four people with reiatsu enter Konoha near my house. I remembered Renji's warning, not to attack, and easily dismissed it. I assumed I would ear about it eventually.

And I did. Late that night, my usual messenger arrived at my house. I rubbed my eyes and trudged to the door.

"What?"

"The Shinigami requested your presence with Hokage-sama."

"Be there soon," I sighed and trudged back. "Shinigami again," I groaned and started dressing in my typical non-ANBU fighting attire: a blue tank top with a flared collar, long-sleeved black fishnet, black shorts with fishnet shorts underneath, and my grey skirt. I put on arch supports for my boots as Neji eyed me from the bed. "What?"

"Just be careful. I know we weren't supposed to attack them, but I didn't recognize their signature," he warned.

"I know," I nodded. "I'll be careful. I agree with you that they've been rather suspicious. I'll talk to them," I kissed him and left the room, in too much of a hurry to talk to the kids. I slid my boots on while I left, teleporting as close to the tower as I could.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"So why are _you_ here?" I asked Naruto, who actually seemed awake and was shuffling with papers on his vast desk.

"I've been up," he answered. "But I also have to be here to officiate the meeting."

"Oh," I sat myself against the wall. "So where are they?"

"Coming," was all he said, apparently finding what he was looking for and signing it.

"Naruto, do you think it's weird that I've taken them around Konoha, but we really don't know much about them at all?" I finally asked him. He wasn't exactly a _sage_—at least, not in the wise old man sense—but I knew I could ask him for advice. "Is it just me, or have I given them too much information for what they've given me?"

"You gave them what I told you to give them," Naruto began searching for another paper. "But you're right, they've been withdrawn. That's another reason I'm here for this meeting. Neji said that he was worried about you," he glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "He pointed out that if they brainwashed you or something, no one would ever know."

"It's a valid point," I shuddered. A silence ensued. "So what do you think they want?"

"I don't know," even though the words were passive, there was a hint of tense danger in them, like he would kill the Shinigami if they did indeed brainwash me. "But if they try to take you, our theories won't mean anything."

"Agreed," I sighed. We waited another few minutes, but no one came. I was drifting off again when rustling came from down the hall. I could feel Ukitake's and Kyōraku's reiatsu, followed by another one that was unknown. I scrunched my eyebrows, looking at Naruto. His face was pulled into a scowl, and he was focused on the door and only half-sitting. They knocked and came in.

"So she was here," Ukitake, wearing his taicho's haori and looking perfectly healthy, noted my presence.

"Is she?" Kyōraku poked his head in and saw me.

"Who else is here?" Naruto's voice held an underlying tone of anger.

"Name's Hirako Shinji," the new guy entered. He didn't wear a Shihakushō like I'd thought, considering his reiatsu, and instead wore a pair of white denim pants and an orange shirt with a collar. His yellow-blonde hair, just a little fainter than Naruto's, was cropped short around his chin, and he casually carried a sword, possibly a zanpakuto, over his shoulder. He looked completely bored, and horribly out of place.

"We haven't met," I stood cautiously. I figured that Ukitake and Kyōraku noticed Naruto's new vigilance as well as mine, but they didn't comment. I lifted a hand to Hirako. "Sukai Sora."

"I know."

"Good," I replied bluntly, not _trying _to be rude. "What's up?" I asked the two captains.

"Sōtaichō wanted to talk to you," Ukitake told me. "We're just here to escort you there," his smile betrayed nothing. It amazed me how much that I had ignored that now seemed so doubtful. Naruto no doubt felt the same.

"If you don't mind, I'll send an escort with Sora from Konoha," he left no room for discussion. I felt a little weight lift off my shoulders.

"If you'd like," Kyōraku's eyes scanned us, obviously wondering what was up with us, but I figured he knew we were suspicious of them in the back of his mind. I nodded to Naruto.

"I'll go home and prepare to go. I'll come back here before we go," I brought my fingers up in front of me and disappeared in a poof of smoke. Teleporting near Sunai's, I left a note in her mailbox telling her what was happening. I figured a ton of consecutive missions would seem a little weird to a critical thinker like her.

I rushed home, and started packing normal things like weapons and scrolls just in case. I put the few things I was bringing into a small sack and slung it over my shoulder. I left a note on my bedroom door as well, hoping that would be enough. But I had to hurry back to the Hokage office to find out who my partners would be.

"There she is," Naruto sounded relieved. Two men stood in front of me when I entered, recognizable even from the back.

Kiba wore his signature leather jacket, and Inuzuka fangs that once marked his face were jointed over his nose. Akamaru wasn't there; understandable since the poor dog was so old. Kiba looked a little tired; also understandable considering the hour.

But then I looked to Kiba's right and saw Shino, covered almost head to toe in blue, black, and green cloth and tinted goggle-like glasses. His face, even if it was covered, was probably stoic and disinterested. I smiled at the realization that these two would be my escort.

"Hey guys!" I shifted my weight to my right.

"Hey Sora. Naruto was just filling us in," Kiba jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Anything else, Naruto?" I asked the Hokage.

"Be careful," he told us. "See you when you get back."

"Bye!" I waved as we left. I was surprised to find that the Shinigami were waiting for us outside. Shino and Kiba flanked me, obviously wary of them.

"This is Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino," I introduced. "Close friends of mine. Guys, this is Ukitake Juushiro, Kyōraku Shunsui, and Hirako Shinji."

"Nice to meet you," Ukitake nodded with a convincing smile.

"And you," Kiba was still scowling at the three like he was sizing them up, but he clearly didn't like the odds.

"Can we go now?" Hirako sighed. I felt a smile tug at my lips at his impatience.

"Kurotsuchi-taicho make a Senkaimon," Kyōraku told him. "It's not as hard as you think it'll be."

"Senkaimon?" I asked.

"A gate between worlds," Ukitake offered. "We have one between Soul Society and Ichigo-kun's world, and Kurotsuchi-taicho analyzed your chakra at one point or another and made a gate with it," he looked sincerely apologetic. I nodded like I didn't care.

Ukitake stuck his zanpakuto into what seemed to be an invisible wall. I watched in awe while he turned the sword and two gates—one a square, one a circle—opened mid-air and six black butterflies flew out. The Shinigami (and Hirako, though I had a hunch he was a Shinigami too) easily walked in. I gave a sideways glance to my friends, who shrugged, and we followed them into Soul Society.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Hirako-san, I don't mean to be rude," I started, but I wasn't sure how to finish. _Who are you really? Why aren't you wearing a Shihakushō? Why do you dress funny, but have reiatsu? Is that a zanpakuto?_ None of the questions fit.

"Go for it," he smirked, "I'm rude all the time."

"Well, I was wondering why I haven't met you yet," I figured that was close enough.

"I'm not a Shinigami, if that's what you want to ask," he told me like I hadn't asked him anything at all. "It's a long story, but I'm not part of Soul Society anymore."

A spark of plotting hope. He could tell me things that the Shinigami wouldn't. "Is that right?" I kept a straight face. "Well then why are you here?"

"Kurosaki is a friend of mine," he shrugged. "Nothing new."

"True," I chuckled. "I know the type," I smirked at Kiba and Shino, who seemed to be keeping up. "By the way, what are we doing?" Seriously; we'd been here for almost two hours. What were we waiting for?

"Waiting on the taichos to finish giving reports," he sighed and leaned back in his chair. "For some reason they don't want you guys there." I shared a look with my escorts. "It shouldn't take long."

"Okay," I nodded. He was right. Just minutes later, I was invited into the meeting room, friends included. As we came in, the doors closed behind us and Kiba and Shino stayed behind me, leaning against the wall. I faced all the captains I'd met so far, plus a large man looking like a fox or a dog and minus Ichigo and Soifon.

"Sukai Sora," the old man said my name like I was his pet. I kept back a scowl.

"Yamamoto-Sōtaichō," I greeted. The others also noticed my more closed-off attitude, but again said nothing. This was beginning to get obnoxious. It was like they thought I was oblivious. I grit and un-grit my teeth. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"First there is the question of your escorts," the old man nodded a tiny bit to Shino and Kiba in the background. I sighed and waved the two of them up next to me.

"Inuzuka Kiba," the dog boy's hands were in his jacket pockets, trying to look cool and nonchalant, but his arms were tense and his face looked alert.

"Aburame Shino," Shino was similarly standing, but there was no way I could read his face. The captains all seemed to be having the same problem.

"They're friends of mine, and Naruto wanted to make sure I was safe," I lied. They were doing it; so why not? "What's the second thing?"

"We wanted to tell you about this rebel faction that Kuchiki-taicho ahs been tracking," Yamamoto informed. "They seem to be harmless and not to know of Konohagakure no Sato."

"That's a relief," I smiled. "But as it's an alliance, is thee anything we can do to help?"

"If we require assistance, we will notify you."

"Thank you, sir," I bowed. I kept standing there, expecting more. After all, they were staring at us. It took me a moment to realize that they were staring at the door behind us, and I curiously turned around to see what was coming.

To everyone's shock, a four-man squad of ANBU came in, surrounding the leader—he was marked with a green flag on his right ear—who just happened to hold Soifon-taicho as a hostage. In an instant, three of the taichos were blowing toward the group with zanpakutos brandished, and I moved cohesively with Kiba and Shino to stop them. I landed firmly in front of Hitsugaya, blocking the flat of his katana with the point of my kunai. I looked up at him darkly.

"You weren't planning on hurting my comrades, were you?" I growled. He looked a bit surprised and jumped back. I twirled my knife and looked behind me to the leader of the team. "What's going on?"

"We've been betrayed by these people," he replied in a voice that seemed familiar.

"Explain yourselves," Soifon commanded, looking particularly at me, having bit the ANBU leader's hand away from her mouth.

"Don't ask us," Kiba retorted.

"A Konoha child was taken a few hours ago from her bed," one of the subordinates barked at her. My eyes softened; her poor parents.

"A Konoha child is none of our concern," Kurotsuchi said boredly. "You're all making such a fuss."

"This child was taken by a damn _Shinigami_," the man insisted. I got the feeling it was his daughter that was taken. "It's definitely your _concern_."

"Your proof of this?" Komamura, currently snarling at Kiba, asked.

"Reiatsu, not chakra, being left behind," the man rumbled back.

"We have no way of helping you," a man I hadn't noticed, yet wore a haori, stepped out of the lines. He had longish, shaggy silver hair the color of Kakashi's, and his shirt hung open enough to show a tattoo of the number '69' to show. I eyed him, my patience with the Shinigami wearing thin.

"Is that right?" the ANBU argued.

"Even if we could, where would we start?" the captain shrugged. I ground my teeth.

"We're already trying to pursue, but the trail's gone cold. Since you people seem to have technologies, we came to you," the ANBU was clearly having trouble containing his anger.

"You shouldn't have," the man sighed dismissively. I finally snapped. I shoved past a surprised Hitsugaya and put my hands on my hips, eyebrows raised and eyes glaring dangerously.

"Okay _look_," I began. "This man's daughter was taken away by one of _your people. _You guys are the ones responsible, so _you_ are going to go look for her. I don't care anymore that you're noble, or that you treated me nicely. You guys are being old-fashioned and _selfish,_" I slashed my hands through the air to emphasize my point. My face red with pure rage, I walked right up to the Sōtaichō. "You Shinigami look down on every human soul, living or dead. _That_ is why you fail to understand us. And _that _is the reason that we have lived so long in _peace _and survived. You guys just _act _high and mighty, and the world bows down. Try earning the respect you demand," I snapped. I turned on my heel, walked through stunned captains, and signaled the release of Soifon.

Just before I exited the room, I turned back around. "If you cowards want to _do _something, go ahead. We're going out to search Soul Society." I took three steps back and pulled the doors shut.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Nice speech," the leader complimented. I blew a few stray hairs from my face and scoffed.

"They're ridiculous. I was an idiot to trust them."

"There _is_ something you should know, though," the ANBU from before said behind me. I got a closer look at his mask, and something was oddly recognizable about it. He reached up and unhooked it, and I took a step back in recoil.

"Neji? Then… no way…" everything started to click.

"It's Miharu, Sora," he nodded. "She's gone."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: OH NO! MIHARU'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!**

**anyway. review if you please, and read Frosted Wings if you get a chance!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: hey! sorry for being so weird with updating. ive been completely blocked, not to mention my friends got me distracted by Homestuck. I've been in a weird mood.**

**Anyway, i hope you appreciate this chapter, since i have to get up in five hours for school. XD**

**thanks for all the support! TENTH CHAPTER BABY!**

**lol. enjoy 3**

**xoxo, Lala**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Even I was surprised at how well I kept in my feelings. So well, in fact, that I knew I was just shoving them away. The priority now was finding her and making sure she's still… alive. I contemplated this while I followed the ANBU squad through Soul Society forests. I was positive we weren't being tailed, so I tried keeping my mind busy with thinking about Ayumu or just not thinking at all.

"Where's Ayumu?" I asked quietly to Neji.

"Hinata and Naruto are watching him," he replied, his voice even more void of emotion than mine. We kept running in silence.

"Stop here," the leader signaled the four of us, and we balanced ourselves in the tree branches. "Listen."

"…I don't hear anything," I said.

"Really?" he replied. "Try again."

"Still nothing," the fourth person, one who I didn't recognize at all, confirmed.

"Strange," the leader commented. "I can't hear it anymore."

"Hear what?" I wondered.

"…Nothing. Nevermind. Let's keep going. If we keep searching, we might find something." Hesitantly, we followed him. I looked over to Kiba, running behind us silently with Shino. He shrugged back and I pursed my lips.

"So what are they after, I wonder," I commented off-handedly after a moment. "Whoever took Miharu obviously wants something from Konoha."

"Agreed," the leader nodded. His black hair, slicked back to fit his mask, blew rapidly with the wind from our speedy movement. "And the only Shinigami that know of Konoha are the Punishment Corps and the Taichos."

"I doubt the Punishment Corps would do anything without command from Soifon," I put in. "Not to mention they don't work individually. It wasn't them. And we can rule out Soifon as well," I told the group.

"Is there a captain that might dislike you?" Shino asked.

"Kurotsuchi, maybe, but I'm pretty sure he lost interest in us; he's the only one I can think of."

"Interesting."

"You two go ahead back to Konoha with the support team," Leader told Kiba and Shino. "Tell the Hokage what happened."

"Right," they said together and they were gone. As we ran, I pulled my ANBU mask out and hooked it on my hip in case I needed it. For a long time, we just ran around searching for a familiar reiatsu or chakra. After a couple hours, we found a very faint trail that felt like the person who had taken my child. After and hour or two following _that,_ we felt it go from very faint to extremely strong in a half second.

I blocked the blow with my kunai, and felt the others back into me in a tight manji formation. I couldn't find my attacker, but that problem was remedied as soon as a thick katana smashed into my knife again. I parried and threw my kunai, which was easily dodged. I pulled my katana and we fell into blows and parries that consumed my mind. I had no time to think about who my assailant was or anything of the like.

"Could use some help," I cried out as her sword made contact with my shoulder, piercing it. As Neji and Leader took over the fight, I stepped back and healed my wound, only daring to use enough chakra to stop the bleeding. The fourth member, name still unknown, knelt next to me and patted my other shoulder. He or she then launched into the fight, covering for Leader.

Suddenly the crisp metallic clangs stopped, and I leaned forward to avoid a kick from behind me, then swung my leg across the ground to sweep them off their feet. He or she fell over and all four of us were on her in a second, knives pointing at his or her neck, heart, temple, and eye. I finally got a decent look at her.

She was grinning like she knew something we didn't, not at all fazed by the lethal weapons less than an inch from her vitals. Her eyes were glittering silver: a color I'd never seen and hopefully never would again. Her hair was the same color, perhaps a shade or two darker, and with black lowlights, tied into a long ponytail on the side. She was beautiful, and terrifying. Not to mention that her unwavering stare was fixed on me.

"So you're the infamous Sora," she chuckled lowly. "I expected a little more."

"Sorry if I don't meet your expectations," I growled back. I pushed my kunai a little closer to her neck. "What are you after?"

"Not telling," she sighed.

"Maybe you don't get it," I mimicked her tone. "_You_ are going to tell me were the child is, as well as why you took her. Then and only then can you start making deals."

She stayed silent. We stared unblinkingly at each other for a moment, a long and tense moment, and then, as I blinked, she was gone. I whirled around just fast enough to see her face as she stabbed her zanpakuto once more into me. I looked down to see the blood staining my right side, and coughed blood.

"Sora," a quiet voice, panicked but restrained, called when my vision sarted getting blurry.

"Swallow the enemy in shadow," the woman commanded.

"Everyone get away," I choked out over the blood in my throat. "That's her zanpa—" I coughed again.

"Kojihoshi," she grinned and my vision tunneled into black.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

Being blind was definitely something I wouldn't wish on anyone, particularly a ninja who depends on his or her senses. Here, stuck in this black world, I couldn't see or hear or smell. I could barely feel what position I was trapped in, and I was having a difficult time with breathing and thinking. And that was without counting the wound in my side.

"You shouldn't fall asleep here," the woman's voice chided, reverberating through my mind. I felt a sort of black power enter my brain and I released a scream of anguish: I was positive I did. I kept screaming. I couldn't stop. It wasn't for a while that I got the idea of releasing chakra like a genjutsu. I clapped my hands together and focused what chakra I could feel in my body out of it. I yelled again, and waited for something to happen.

But nothing did. I was still being tortured from the inside out, and none of my ninja powers could do anything.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<br>**BACK AT THE CAPTAIN'S MEETING**  
>XXXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Sensei," Ukitake muttered, "don't you think we should go help them?"

"They will do fine on their own," Yamamoto barked.

"Sōtaichō, do you know who is behind the kidnapping?" Soifon was brushing herself off, trying to regain some dignity.

"The logical guess is the rebels from before," Shinji, long since sitting in on the meeting, put in. Everyone looked to him. "Especially if they knew about Konoha."

"Speaking of," Kyōraku leaned out of line. "Did they know?"

"Yes," Byakuya answered shortly.

"Gee, now they're going to trust you," Shinji rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you just tell them the truth?"

"They didn't need to know," Kurotsuchi shrugged. "Besides, they act like children. They can't deal with something like this."

"And I repeat my question," Ukitake insisted. "Shouldn't we go help?"

"You are very adamant about this," Unohana commented.

"She did the procedure," he told her. Her eyes went wide, and everyone else looked confused. But before they could ask, Yamamoto slammed his staff/sword into the floor.

"Ukitake Juushiro, go after them. Bring them back here. If they resist, come back and we will send another squad with you," Yamamoto ruled. "Avoid force if possible."

"Of course," Ukitake nodded and was gone.

He followed what seemed to be only Sora's chakra. It was like she knew they would go after them eventually, and left them a trail to follow. Ukitake didn't bother trying to figure out what that meant; he'd only end up confused. The trail led him everywhere, but sometimes he would be able to skip a loop or two and definitely saved time that way. However, he still took a long time before he found the reiatsu trail the shinobi were following.

He guessed it was almost ten or so in the morning, by the warming air. Ukitake relished in the feeling of crisp air moving through his lungs without trouble. His brain, however focused on following the shinobi, seemed to wander toward thoughts of birds and flowers and things he would be capable of now, instead of staying in his room sick all the time. He smiled and made a mental note to thank Sora and her friend Sakura for their help.

Ukitake was thrust out of his daze when piercing, tortured screams, clearly a woman's screams, rang out not far from where he was. He flashed even faster and tried his damnedest to get there. As soon as he neared the area, he was assaulted by two of the masked shinobi, ANBU as he recalled, and he threw his hands up.

"What are you doing here," the one with the green flag on his ear demanded. "Are you with this woman?"

"Woman?" Ukitake glanced around the two and saw a silver haired woman with a sword standing in a black-lit bubble over someone else. He didn't have a chance to see who it was before he was jerked back to his captors. "No, I'm not with her. What's going on?"

"You tell me," the other ANBU growled and released Ukitake. The white-haired captain stared past him, finally seeing the screaming person.

It was, as he had feared, Sora who was making the awful sound. The silver-haired woman's protective bubble stretched enough to envelop Sora as well, making it impossible to help her. Another ANBU was trying to break the force field, but to no avail.

"What was the command?" Ukitake asked the green-flagged man.

"What?"

"The sword's release command, what was it?"

"She said 'swallow the enemy in shadow,' then 'Kojihoshi,'" the other ANBU replied for him.

"So it's kido-based," Ukitake breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped forward, not breaking eye contact with the woman. He stared at her delicately closed eyes, watching to make sure she didn't go anywhere. "Waves, become my shield; Lightning, become my blade; Sōgyo no Kotowari." His sword split, and he lifted the left one to the force field. Slowly, the field was sucked away, and Ukitake released the energy from it on the woman herself. It wouldn't kill her, obviously; it was just a force field, after all. But it would maim her enough to make her behave.

Sora's screams stopped, but her panting and faint whimpers gave way to a belief that she was still nearing death. Ukitake flashed, grabbed her, flashed back to the ANBU, and put her down.

"I'll go after her. Bring her to Unohana-taicho, back in Soul Society," Ukitake told them.

"We're going with you," the green-flagged man, Ukitake was seriously thinking he was the platoon captain, retorted. "Neji, bring Sora back to Soul Society like he said. Gather as much information as you can."

"Wait, Neji…?" Ukitake's eyes went wide and he watched in shock as Sora and her evident husband ran back to safety.

"Let's go," the captain said curtly. He could see that Ukitake had pieced everything together. But they would deal with that later. The assailant wasn't far away. They barely had to hop over a dozen trees to get to where the blast from Sōgyo no Kotowari had taken her. The leader roughly pulled her dirt-caked arms into a lock and put a knife to her neck. Ukitake watched in mild surprise at the harshness of the Shinobi. After all the talk about protection and kindness, he hadn't expected any sort of cruel treatment.

"Your name," the leader demanded.

"Tsukiko," she tried to lose his grip, to no avail.

"Your purpose."

"I already said, I'm not telling."

"But the difference now is that you're not getting away," the other ANBU pulled on a roll of what Ukitake recognized as trip wire and shuddered.

These shinobi were not to be underestimated.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<br>WITH NEJI AND SORA  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Neji…" I felt blood bubble over my lips. "Let me move my hand." He moved his elbow a little so that I would move. Carefully, I put my hands together in seals to start my medical jutsu while I was conscious. However, I couldn't find my chakra.

"Faster," I choked. "No chakra."

"What are you saying? You haven't used any chakra," he told me incredulously.

"LOOK AT ME NEJI. I HAVE _NO CHAKRA_," I snapped, despite my condition. Then I winced at the massive throbbing in my side. Neji's chakra fluxed and I knew he was using Byakugan. His arms tensed and his paced picked up, trying to get me there sooner.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Get me sutures," someone was saying. I couldn't see clearly, blood red tinting my vision. I groaned. "Sh, sh," the same person hushed. "Don't move. Stay calm, and try to get some rest." I didn't dare nod or speak, but I understood. I let my eyes slide shut again, a dim light going off in the back of my brain, saying the Unohana was taking good care of me.  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"Come on, wake up," Neji's voice was impatient. I felt his warm hand holding mine, and I squeezed a little. "There she is."

"'Course," I smirked, eyes still shut. "Mednin."

"Press the button," he told someone. A little buzz was heard and very soon, a nervous shuffle came into my room.

"What is it?" I recognized the voice of Kotetsu Isane.

"She's conscious," Neji replied.

"Oh, good," she breathed. I still kept my eyes squeezed shut as she checked my pulse. I felt the odd tickle of an IV in my elbow when she nudged my arm. "You seem to be recovering nicely. Keep resting."

"Right," I sighed.

"Can you tell us what happened?" I recognized the voice of the leader.

"As soon as she said her command," I started, my voice still frustratingly shaky, "most of my senses cut off."

"Interesting," his voice was pensive. "What else?"

"Well, this sort of… light, if you will, came into my mind and exploded. I swear it triggered every sense of pain I have. My mind, my body, and pretty soon after that, my soul," I shivered involuntarily.

"That sounds terrible," Isane said quietly. "Are you still in any pain?"

"No," I affirmed. "As soon as the power went away, so did the pain. Remind me to thank Ukitake-san," I tensed, realizing what I'd just said. Did that mean I trusted him again? Well, he _had_ saved my life, but at the same time….

"He'll be here soon," Isane was probably _trying _to be comforting.

"Fantastic," I almost whispered.

"This is strange," Neji finally interjected.

"What is?" the leader said in that familiar voice of his.

"Her chakra system is… clouded. I can't see it clearly," Neji replied, confusion coloring his tone lightly.

"Interesting," the leader repeated.

"Can you open your eyes for me?" Isane instructed quietly. I squinted my eyes open, trying to let them adjust to the white light. As I did, they quickly took in my surroundings: the beeping machine, the two ANBU leaning against the far wall, Neji sitting in a chair next to me unmasked with his Byakugan activated. Isane had apparently not noticed his veined face, because she had yet to react. I then faced her, and she shined a light into my right eye, then my left. Evidently finding nothing wrong, she went back to her clipboard. It was then that Ukitake decided to walk in.

"Is she awake?" he asked calmly.

"Hai," Isane nodded. Neji helped me sit up, and I faced the captain full-on. Isane and the others left, and I was left with Ukitake alone.

"So it's my daughter," I told him, emotionless.

"I figured that out," his voice and face were sympathetic. "And I talked with Neji-san while you were in surgery."

"Oh goodness," the corners of my mouth lifted a little. "Whatever he said, I apologize."

"Oh, it's fine. He explained why you were so suspicious of us, and it makes sense that you were so angry when all of this happened," he sighed.

"So?"

"You should know that we keep many secrets here. It's all to protect a great many people, contrary to your belief," he smiled. Watching his face, I got the idea that he was trying to apologize for the entire Soul Society. "We may do it differently, but we have the same goals."

"I can understand that," I shrugged a tiny bit. "However, it doesn't explain your secrecy with me. I had been under the impression we trusted one another," I managed to keep the betrayed feelings off my face, confining the emotion to my eyes. He still seemed to see it, though. His eyes softened. I looked away.

"I trust you with my life," he told me offhandedly. "With good reason."

"I suppose that I trust you the same," I thought about it. "You _did _save my life earlier."

"Then can we start over?"

"I don't see why not."

"Maybe I should tell you this now, then. We know their true objectives now," he sat next to my bed, where Neji had been waiting for me to wake up.

"They are former followers of Aizen. We don't know how or why, but they have evaded us since his defeat. They particularly want the head of Ichigo-kun, but their main objective is to cut off our connection to Konoha. You are human, and Aizen looked down on humans," he explained. When I started to reprimand, he cut me off. "More than most Shinigami. He saw humans as pieces of dirt instead of fighting beings."

"Damn," I whispered, looking down. "I guess it makes sense that I'm the first target. That's why they took her…"

"Right," he exhaled. "But I'm getting support from other captains. Hitsugaya-kun volunteered immediately. After that, Ichigo-kun and Hirako-san joined my party, so I think we'll be able to go after them."

"Do you mind my asking who Hirako-san is?" I wondered.

"No, that's a valid question. Hirako-san was the Taicho of the fifth squad. He and a few others were taichos over one hundred fifteen years ago. Maybe we'll see them around. They visit every once in a while," Ukitake smiled nostalgically.

"Visit?"

"They live in Ichigo-kun's world. There's a long story behind that."

"I hope I hear it eventually."

"I would tell you, but I'm not the right person," he apologized. "Not to mention your friends have returned." I turned to see that, in fact, they had. They had their masks on, not trusting the Shinigami.

"Hey," I smiled.

"Feeling better?" Neji asked.

"I haven't even noticed I was injured," I lied a little.

"I wanted to say something while we're all together," the leader announced. "I know that the enemy is after revenge, so I believe I can help find them." His voice was strong and confident, like a true leader's should be. His hand went to his mask, and it unhooked with a small scraping sound of metal against polished porcelain. My eyes bulged at the sight of his face.

"Sasuke?"  
>XXXXXXXXXX<p>

"So if they're out for revenge, they'll generally do three things," Sasuke reasoned. "Gather strength without being found, assert their power, and then they'll try getting the target alone for a fight to the death."

"How does this help find them?" Ukitake asked a valid question.

"They've already finished the first step, from what I can tell," Sasuke explained. "That means that they're asserting power. Now think, what would be the ideal way to assert power over such a large and _powerful_ force like Soul Society?" he looked to Neji.

"High places, or conquering helpless areas," Neji replied. "So for us, it would be the land of rice paddies, or small villages on the outskirts with large mountains."

"Do you have any large mountains where someone could hide?" the mystery member asked the white-haired captain.

"I would say Soukyouku hill, but it's regularly monitored."

"Anywhere in Rukongai?" I asked, reentering the conversation.

"Maybe the outer rings. I'll send a squad to search," Ukitake turned to the door. "Heard that, Sentarou, Kiyone?"

"Yes, Taicho!" the two co-seats were with us in the blink of an eye.

"How long were you there?" I gaped.

"Since you awoke, Sukai-san!" Sentarou replied in a half-yell.

"So, since the beginning…" I summarized.

"Go check it out," Ukitake ordered. "Take as many as you think you'll need."

"Hai, Taicho!" they disappeared.

"That's odd," Neji said after a moment.

"What is?" I asked without looking at him. I found a glass of water next to my bed and sipped a little from it. When I looked up again, Neji's eyebrows were scrunched over his Byakugan in confusion. I gave him a wondering look.

"You've healed quickly," he said. "But as you heal, your chakra is coming back."

"Seriously?" I lifted an eyebrow. Sasuke tapped my shoulder and pointed at Ukitake, whose eyes were large at Neji's skill.

"Oh, Ukitake-taicho," I chuckled, ignoring the twinge of muffled pain in my side. "Neji has an ocular power, called the Byakugan," I explained with a hint of pride in my voice.

"In your eyes?" Ukitake asked Neji incredulously. "Isnt it painful?"

"No," Neji released his power. All the veins went back into place and he shook his head. "It's just like any other jutsu. It just resides in my eyes. I can see a person chakra network and points, and I have 360 degree vision."

"I was wrong in thinking our abilities are similar," Ukitake concluded. "They are quite different."

"They are in some ways," Sasuke put in. I figured he wanted his two cents in, considering he'd probably looked at the Shinigami with his Sharingan as well. "The source of power is generally the same, but the way we have to use it is very different."

"I see that," Ukitake nodded. "For instance we can store our reiatsu in a sword or object, but you cannot."

"And I've noticed you have fewer people capable of reconnaissance," I added. "It's mostly attack power."

"Good point. But we've managed for many, many years."

"Well, if we find them, we won't need much recon power," Sasuke pointed out. "The big part now is finding them."

"Do you know how big their group is?" I asked.

"We've cut them down to five. But naturally that means those are five powerful Shinigami," Ukitake warned.

"Taicho!" Kiyone appeared once again.

"What is it?"

"Sir, Sokyoku Hill is empty, and there aren't many mountains in the outer rings of Rukongai."

"I wonder where they are…"

"Sir, if I can make a suggestion?" Kiyone asked nervously.

"Yes?"

"Karakura town is at high elevation, and has easy access to Soul Society… Not to mention its reiatsu-rich atmosphere," the girl made a point.

"I had overlooked that," Ukitake whispered. "Thank you Kiyone."

"Sir," she vanished.

"It's the most likely spot," Ukitake said.

"What is 'Karakura town'?" Neji asked.

"I live there," Ichigo walked in, flanked by Rukia. "And if those guys are starting to act, my family's next. I'm going home; care to join?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**review!**

**Also: Tsukiko's (the evil lady) zanpakuto's name is Kojihoshi, meaning 'Orphaned Star.' just FYI.**


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